Osler and the Infected Letter

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 var...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Ambrose, Charles T.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2005
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320382/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15890120
http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1105.040616
_version_ 1782228818218450944
author Ambrose, Charles T.
author_facet Ambrose, Charles T.
author_sort Ambrose, Charles T.
collection PubMed
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.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-3320382
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2005
publisher Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-33203822012-04-20 Osler and the Infected Letter Ambrose, Charles T. Emerg Infect Dis Historical Review 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. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2005-05 /pmc/articles/PMC3320382/ /pubmed/15890120 http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1105.040616 Text en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is a publication of the U.S. Government. This publication is in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from this work may be reprinted freely. Use of these materials should be properly cited.
spellingShingle Historical Review
Ambrose, Charles T.
Osler and the Infected Letter
title Osler and the Infected Letter
title_full Osler and the Infected Letter
title_fullStr Osler and the Infected Letter
title_full_unstemmed Osler and the Infected Letter
title_short Osler and the Infected Letter
title_sort osler and the infected letter
topic Historical Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320382/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15890120
http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1105.040616
work_keys_str_mv AT ambrosecharlest oslerandtheinfectedletter