During the 1700’s, smallpox epidemics raged throughout the American colonies. They would severely impact the new Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The first signs came during the early battles of the American Revolution in 1775-1776 – at the siege of Boston, the siege of Quebec, and Britain’s Virginia regiments. These deadly outbreaks pushed WashingtonContinue reading “Smallpox and the American Revolution”
Tag Archives: epidemic
The Hickory Polio Miracle
In the spring on 1944 , World War II was still raging in both Europe and the Pacific. At the same time, another deadly threat was invading the U.S. state of North Carolina – a dreaded polio epidemic. Regional hospitals were quickly maxed out with young, sick children. Desperate parents needed a solution, but whatContinue reading “The Hickory Polio Miracle”
The Medieval Dancing Plague of St. Vitus Dance
Five hundred years ago, during a hot July summer in the French city of Strasbourg, a strange mania seized its people. Hundreds of citizens became compelled to dance uncontrollably in the streets – for no apparent reason. This collective “dance fever” lasted for WEEKS. That is, until they collapsed from exhaustion, unconsciousness or, in someContinue reading “The Medieval Dancing Plague of St. Vitus Dance”
Podcast: Typhoid Mary Mallon – Villain or Victim?
Over the past 100 years, Typhoid Mary’s name has became synonymous with any notorious carrier or spreader of an infectious disease, causing an epidemic or worse. But there was a real-life woman, Mary Mallon, and a tragic story behind that infamous name. Who was she and how did Typhoid Mary become so notorious? Prefer toContinue reading “Podcast: Typhoid Mary Mallon – Villain or Victim?”
Podcast: The 1918 Spanish Flu Beats all Pandemics Since the Black Plague
Before COVID, before Ebola, before SARS, the 1918 Flu Pandemic killed more humans than all of World War I combined, over 50 million people worldwide! In just over a year, the so-called ‘Spanish Flu’ would infect a fifth of the world’s population. It remains to this day THE most devastating pandemic in recorded history. PreferContinue reading “Podcast: The 1918 Spanish Flu Beats all Pandemics Since the Black Plague”
The Infamous Typhoid Mary Mallon – Villain or Victim?
Listen to an audio Podcast Over the years, the name Typhoid Mary has become synonymous with any person spreading an infectious disease, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Today is no different as we used the term with the COVID pandemic. But there was a real-life woman and a tragic story behind that infamous name. Who wasContinue reading “The Infamous Typhoid Mary Mallon – Villain or Victim?”
Japan’s Horrific Minamata Disease was a Man-made Disaster
Minamata Disease is a sobering reminder of the dangers of unregulated industries in modern times, a purely human-created disease.