![]() ![]() These letters, part of the Benjamin and Julia Stockton Rush papers, are digitized and available online. One physician, Benjamin Rush, wrote to his wife throughout the outbreak and their letters offer a look at life during an epidemic. ![]() Physicians struggled to understand how the disease spread and struggled to effectively treat the growing number of ill Philadelphians. When yellow fever struck Philadelphia in 1793, nearly a tenth of the city’s population perished during the outbreak. Below you’ll find a sample of sources from us as well as resources from other institutions. The Rubenstein Library’s History of Medicine Collections has material related to the history of epidemics, pandemics, and infectious disease. While most of us have more immediate concerns – from job security to our own physical and mental health – it is worth considering the roots of now-common disease maps or the idea of “social distancing” to slow infection rates. From the earliest days of epidemiology to the experiments that launched our vaccinated world, these moments continue to resonate today. This may seem like an unrelated list of places and dates, but each represents a particular moment in the history of our fight against infectious disease. Post contributed by Brooke Guthrie, Research Services Librarian and Rachel Ingold, Curator, History of Medicine Collections. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |