History of Pandemics in America: The Ultimate Web Guide

Posted by Jennifer on April 4, 2011

When an epidemic — or an infectious disease within a local population — reaches people across a wider geographical area, it becomes a pandemic. The following list of resources about pandemics in America include epidemics contained within the country, pandemics that originated in this country, and pandemics that originated elsewhere and spread to America over time. Some links also contain information about pandemics, infectious diseases and epidemics, all considered public health nightmares.

Videos

  1. Horizon PandemicBBC Horizon — Pandemic: A Horizon Guide: In the wake of the swine flu outbreak, virologist Dr Mike Leahy uses over 50 years of BBC archive to explore the history of pandemics — infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites.
  2. Diseases of Domestication — Pandemic Alert: Dr. Michael Greger, author of Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, presents some very startling facts which explains what mankind has changed over the last few centuries to put us at risk of a major pandemic.
  3. Pandemics Happen: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt addresses the fact that pandemics have happened throughout history.
  4. Pint Size History — The Black Death: The History Channel’s own pub historian explains why the Black Death made it so awful to live in the Middle Ages.
  5. The History of Pandemics: A simple video with background music and text that covers pandemics from the Black Death to Avian Flu.

Timelines

  1. AIDS SlidesAIDS Retrospective Slideshow: This is a pictorial timeline of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, offered by WebMD.
  2. Epidemic Timeline: This timeline begins with the Bubonic Plague and ends in 1989-1991 with the measles.
  3. Genealogical Research: A list that begins with measles in Boston in 1657 and ends with with worldwide influenza epidemic in 1918.
  4. Major U.S. Epidemics: This list starts with Yellow Fever in Philadelphia in 1793 and ends with Swine Flu in 2009.
  5. The History of Polio: This timeline begins in 1789, when British physician Michael Underwood provides the first clinical description of polio.
  6. Timeline of Human Flu Pandemics: This timeline, offered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, includes human cases of avian and swine flu viruses.
  7. Timeline of influenza A(H1N1) cases: This interactive world map shows the cumulative spread of new influenza A(H1N1) cases as they were reported to WHO beginning 26 April 2009. These numbers relate to laboratory confirmed cases and deaths.
  8. Timelines of Great Epidemics: Beginning with the SARS scare in 2002, this list goes back to the Plague of Athens in 430 BC.
  9. Timelines of Historic Disasters & Epidemics: Natural and man-made disasters, from earthquakes to flu pandemics, have affected the lives of our ancestors and altered the course of history.

Web Sites

  1. Obesity AmericaObesity in America: A creation of The Endocrine Society and The Hormone Foundation, this Web site serves as a one-stop clearinghouse for information on the key scientific trends and advancements that may one day lead to a slimmer, fitter America, across all demographic lines.
  2. Polio Today: The Salk Institute for Biological Studies publishes this site to raise awareness of post-polio syndrome and to be a resource for polio survivors.
  3. The Colonial Spread of Disease in the Americas: This is a digital textbook wiki project that looks at smallpox, influenza, typhus and malaria.
  4. The Great Pandemic: This site is devoted to the influenza pandemic that occured in the U.S. between 1918 and 1919.
  5. The History of HIV and AIDS in America: AVERT’s Community Program offers a history of HIV and AIDS in America and from around the world in this site.
  6. Trust for America’s Health: This site is all about preventing epidemics through education and preventive measures.

Syllabi, Scholarly Articles, Online Courses

  1. InfluenzaA History of Influenza: This article was first published online in July 2008. Includes citations.
  2. History of Epidemics and Plagues: This is an illustrated text that goes with Paul Bugl’s course on Epidemics and AIDS at the University of Hartford.
  3. Impact of Pandemic Influenza on Public Health: This is a slide-only course offered at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
  4. Pathophysiology of Infectious Diseases: The intent of the course is to provide a background into the clinical and pathophysiologic aspects of infectious disease of organ systems.
  5. The History of Public Health and Epidemic Disease in America [PDF]: This is the syllabus for a course by the same name, taught by Dr. Margaret Humphreys at Duke University.
  6. West Nile Virus Epidemics in North America Are Driven by Shifts in Mosquito Feeding Behavior: West Nile virus (WNV) has caused repeated large-scale human epidemics in North America since it was first detected in 1999 and is now the dominant vector-borne disease in this continent.

Articles

  1. PAHRC1832 Cholera Outbreak in Philadelphia and Duffy’s Cut: A perspective on this epidemic from the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center.
  2. Influenza of 1918 (Spanish Flu) and the US Navy:
  3. Lessons from America’s Tropical Epidemic: This NPR article covers diseases that are associated with hot weather, such as yellow fever.
  4. Native American Beliefs and Medical Treatments During the Smallpox Epidemics: an Evolution: This article exposes the way Native Americans treated smallpox in early America.
  5. The Polio Vaccine: Freedom from Fear: The first polio epidemic hit the United States, killing and crippling thousands of Americans in 1916.
  6. The Worst US Epidemics in Modern History: This article focuses on the epidemics that have had the most impact on the U.S.
  7. Yellow Fever Attacks Philadelphia, 1793: This article at Eyewitness to History documents the deaths of over 2,000 people in this episode.

Shows, Exhibits, Web Sections

  1. ContagionContagion: This section of the Harvard University Library Open Collections Program focuses on a historical view of diseases and epidemics.
  2. Epidemic! The Word of Infectious Disease: This portion of the American Museum of Natural History is reserved for an exhibit about epidemics on view in 1999.
  3. Influenza 1918: This is a special American Experience show that you can watch online, focused on the “Spanish Influenza.”
  4. 1918 Flu Pandemic: The History.com site contains information about various epidemics and pandemics. This one focuses on the 1918 flue pandemic.
  5. Cholera: This section of the site, Virtual New York City, focuses on the cholera epidemic. Cholera reached North America in June 1832.
  6. The American Epidemics: Polio: The Smithsonian offers a special Web section on polio and how it affected Americans in the twentieth century.
  7. The Deadly Virus: National Archives offers a section filled with documents and photos chronicling the flu epidemic of 1918.

Tagged as: AIDS, cholera, epidemic, HIV, infectious diseases, pandemic, polio, Spanish influenza, swine flu, yellow fever



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