Osler and the Infected Letter

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Ambrose, Charles T.
• Description:
  The spread of infectious agents through the mail has concerned public health officials for 5 centuries. The dissemination of anthrax spores in the US mail in 2001 was a recent example. In 1901, two medical journals reported outbreaks of smallpox presumably introduced by letters contaminated with variola viruses. The stability and infectivity of the smallpox virus are reviewed from both a historical (anecdotal) perspective and modern virologic studies. Bubonic plague was the contagious disease that led to quarantines as early as the 14th century in port cities in southern Europe. Later, smallpox, cholera, typhus, and yellow fever were recognized as also warranting quarantine measures. Initially, attempts were made to decontaminate all goods imported from pestilential areas, particularly mail. Disinfection of mail was largely abandoned in the early 20th century with newer knowledge about the spread and stability of these 5 infectious agents.
• Subjects:
  Correspondence As Topic History, 15Th Century History, 16Th Century History, 17Th Century History, 18Th Century History, 19Th Century History, 20Th Century History, 21St Century History, Medieval Humans Postal Service Quarantine Smallpox Variola Virus

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• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 11(5):689-693.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Genre:
  Historical Article
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  5
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:d75faf2cb01f925aefb0f7da00dee453ca7513a0bd82600f1b01ee24c7dca05b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/15650/cdc_15650_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 257.18 KB ]