Yellow fever : a deadly disease poised to kill again / James L. Dickerson.

Author/creator Dickerson, James
Format Book
PublicationAmherst, New York : Prometheus Books, 2006.
Description271 pages : illustrated ; 24 cm
Subjects
Yellow fever--History.
Yellow Fever--history.
Communicable Diseases, Emerging.
Yellow Fever--epidemiology.

Portion of title Deadly disease poised to kill again
Contents Philadelphia: the great plague of 1793 -- -- New Orleans: gateway to death -- Memphis almost disappears -- -- Mississippi devastated by yellow jack -- -- Spanish-American war: finding the real enemy -- -- Weapons of mass destruction -- -- Global warming casts ominous shadow -- -- The disease that won't go away.
Abstract Yellow Fever is unlikely to be found on a list of potential health threats facing Americans today. Most people, if they have heard of the disease at all, would consider it a historical curiosity from a bygone era. In this fascinating study of a once-terrifying pandemic, author James L. Dickerson makes it clear that the disease could reemerge with deadly virulence. In a vividly told narrative, filled with poignant and graphic scenes culled from historical archives, Dickerson recounts the history of one of the most feared diseases in the United States. From the late 18th to the early 20th century, Yellow Fever killed Americans by the tens of thousands in the Northeast and throughout the South. In Memphis alone, five thousand people died in 1878. Dickerson describes how public health officials gradually eliminated the disease from this country, so that by the mid 1950s it had ceased to be of much concern to the public at large. However, to this day no cure has been found. As a mosquito-borne viral infection, Yellow Fever is impervious to antibiotics, and it continues to wreak havoc in parts of South America and Africa. Focusing on the present, Dickerson discusses the potential threat of Yellow Fever as a biological warfare agent in the hands of terrorists. Also of concern to public health researchers is the effect of global warming on mosquito populations. Even a one-to-two degree warming enables disease-bearing mosquitoes to move into areas once protected by colder weather. He concludes with a discussion of current precautionary efforts based on interviews with experts and analysis of available studies.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (p. 261-266) and index.
Acquisitions source Laupus- E. Daniel Shingleton Public Health Collection
LCCN 2005038055
LCCN 2013029720
ISBN1591023998 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN9781591023999 (hardcover : alk. paper)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Laupus Books - Stacks WC 532 D549Y 2006 ✔ Available Place Hold