Three Eponymous Diseases

Aug 7, 2024

Discover the fascinating stories behind three diseases named after individuals. Learn about the dramatic outbreak of Legionnaires' in 1976 and the challenges health officials faced. Uncover the infectious nature of norovirus, its historical roots, and the complexities of its identification. Dive into the tragic stories of the 1976 Ebola outbreaks, highlighting community impacts and response efforts. Explore the stigma surrounding disease names and their influence on public perception and healthcare.

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Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

The Legionnaires' Investigation

01:34 • 12min

Legionnaires' Legacy and Virus Vexations

13:10 • 6min

Uncovering Norovirus: A Historical Journey

18:57 • 8min

Understanding Norovirus and Ebola: Challenges and Insights

27:03 • 6min

Outbreak Chronicles: The 1976 Ebola Epidemics

32:46 • 13min

The Impact of Disease Names

45:39 • 7min

Two of the eponymous diseases in this episode are transmitted through incredibly casual exposure. The third requires more prolonged, direct contact with someone who is acutely ill, but can still spread really rapidly in certain conditions.

Research:

Breman, Joel G et al. “Discovery and Description of Ebola Zaire Virus in 1976 and Relevance to the West African Epidemic During 2013-2016.” The Journal of infectious diseases vol. 214,suppl 3 (2016): S93-S101. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiw207
Center for Disease Control "Morbidity and mortality weekly report, Vol. 25, no. 32, August 20, 1976" vol. 25, no. 32, 1976
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 25, no. 30, August 6, 1976" vol. 25, no. 30, 1976
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 25, no. 31, August 13, 1976" vol. 25, no. 31, 1976
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 25, no. 34, September 3, 1976" vol. 25, no. 34, 1976
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 26, no. 2, January 18, 1977; special issue : Follow-up on respiratory illness - Philidelphia" vol. 26, no. 2, 1977
Communicable Disease Center (U.S.) "MMWR Weekly Report, Vol. 17, no. 47, Week ending November 23, 1968" vol. 17, no. 47, 1968
Dance, Amber. “Norovirus: The perfect pathogen.” Knowable. 9/11/2017. https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2017/norovirus-perfect-pathogen
Dolin, Raphael et al. “Transmission of Acute Infectious Nonbacterial Gastroenteritis to Volunteers by Oral Administration of Stool Filtrates.” Journal of Infectious Diseases. Vol. 123, No. 3. March 1971.
Feldmann, H., Jones, S., Klenk, HD. et al. Ebola virus: from discovery to vaccine. Nat Rev Immunol 3, 677–685 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1154
Lucero Y, Matson DO, Ashkenazi S, George S, O'Ryan M. Norovirus: Facts and Reflections from Past, Present, and Future. Viruses. 2021 Nov 30;13(12):2399. doi: 10.3390/v13122399. PMID: 34960668; PMCID: PMC8707792.
Markel, Howard. “How a hotel convention became ground zero for this deadly bacteria.” PBS. 7/23/2018. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-a-hotel-convention-became-ground-zero-for-this-deadly-bacteria
McDevitt, Dawn. “Case Investigations: Lessons Learned from the 1976 Philadelphia Legionellosis Outbreak.” Indiana Epidemiology Newsletter. Third quarter 2015. https://www.in.gov/health/files/2015_EpiNews_3Q.pdf
Robilotti E, Deresinski S, Pinsky BA. Norovirus. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2015 Jan;28(1):134-64. doi: 10.1128/CMR.00075-14. PMID: 25567225; PMCID: PMC4284304.
WHO/International Study Team. “Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Sudan, 1976.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization ,56 (2): 247-270 (1978). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2395561/pdf/bullwho00439-0090.pdf
Winn, Washington C. “Legionnaires Disease: Historical Perspective.” Clinical Microbiology Reviews. January 1988. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC358030/pdf/cmr00055-0072.pdf

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