Plague in India: A New Warning from an Old Nemesis
Authors: Grant L. Campbell
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1995)

Editorials15 January 1995Plague in India: A New Warning from an Old NemesisGrant L. Campbell, MD, PhD and James M. Hughes, MDGrant L. Campbell, MD, PhDCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80522Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333 and James M. Hughes, MDCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80522Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-122-2-199501150-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The main outstanding problem of the Black Death, or indeed of the plague in any era, is … what it is which provokes an epidemic of the air-borne pneumonic variant of the disease [1].A recent Institute of Medicine report, "Emerging Infections: Microbial Threats to Health in the United States" [2], called attention to the complacency that has developed regarding infectious diseases, highlighted the risk for importation of diseases that develop in remote parts of the world, and stressed the need to strengthen national and international infectious disease surveillance. The report cites the introduction of plague from other continents into ...References1. Ziegler P. The Black Death. New York: Harper & Row; 1969:28. Google Scholar2. Lederberg J, Shope RE, Oaks SC. Emerging Infections: Microbial Threats to Health in the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press; 1992. Google Scholar3. Sant MV, Nimbkar YS, Renapurkar DM. Is plague lurking in Maharashtra? A survey in Bhir district. Indian J Med Sci. 1972; 26:480-4. Google Scholar4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Human plague—-India, 1994. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1994; 43:689-91. Google Scholar5. Friese K, Mahurka U, Rattanani L, Kattyar A, Rai S. The plague peril. Are you at risk? India Today. 15 October 1994. Google Scholar6. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe. Plague in India. Communicable Disease Report (CD News). Issue 5; 11 October 1994. Google Scholar7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update: human plague—India, 1994. 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Geneva: World Health Organization; 1990:7. Google Scholar20. Craven RB, Maupin GO, Beard ML, Quan TJ, Barnes AM. Reported cases of human plague infections in the United States, 1970-1991. J Med Entomol. 1993; 30:758-61. Google Scholar21. Berkelman RL, Bryan RT, Osterholm MT, LeDuc JW, Hughes JM. Infectious disease surveillance: a crumbling foundation. Science. 1994; 264:368-70. Google Scholar22. Berkelman RL. Emerging infectious diseases in the United States, 1993. J Infect Dis. 1994; 170:272-7. Google Scholar23. Barnes AM. Surveillance and control of bubonic plague in the United States. In: Edwards MA, McDonnell U, eds. Animal Disease in Relation to Animal Conservation. New York: Academic Press; 1982:237-70. Google Scholar24. Berkelman RL, Hughes JM. The conquest of infectious diseases: who are we kidding (Editorial)? Ann Intern Med. 1993; 119:426-7. Google Scholar25. Institute of Medicine. The U.S. Capacity to Address Tropical Infectious Disease Problems. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press; 1987. Google Scholar26. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Addressing emerging infectious disease threats: a prevention strategy for the Unites States. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 1994. Google Scholar27. Dennis DT. Plague in India. Lessons for public health everywhere. BMJ. 1994; 309:893-4. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Grant L. Campbell, MD, PhD; James M. Hughes, MDAffiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80522Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333Corresponding Author: Grant L. Campbell, MD, PhD, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, P.O. Box 2087, Fort Collins, CO 80522-2087. 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