Sexually Transmitted Disease: Shadow on the Land, Revisited
Authors: Allan M. Brandt
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1990)

Editorial1 April 1990Sexually Transmitted Disease: Shadow on the Land, RevisitedAllan M. Brandt, PhDAllan M. Brandt, PhDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-112-7-481 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptSince Surgeon General Thomas Parran (1) began his campaign in the 1930s to wipe out syphilis-"the shadow on the land"-partner notification has been considered an important element of public health policy to control epidemic disease. Case finding through notification of partners was based on the common-sense notion that early intervention among persons who were often unaware that they might be infected could lead to the control of diseases like syphilis. Parran called for a "Wassermann dragnet": vigorous screening, reporting, contact tracing, and treatment to rid the nation of the scourge of sexually transmitted disease. When first proposed and implemented in...References1. Parran T. Shadow on the Land: Syphilis. New York: Reynal & Hitchcock; 1937. Google Scholar2. Brandt A. No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880. New York: Oxford University Press; 1987. Google Scholar3. ToomeyCahillBlountHavlakCates KKJGW. AIDS: politics and science [Letter]. N Engl J Med. 1988;319:441-3. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Osborn J. AIDS: politics and science. N Engl J Med. 1988;318:444-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. AndrusFlemingHarger JDD. Partner notification: can it control epidemic syphilis? Ann Intern Med. 1990;112:539-43. LinkGoogle Scholar6. Lambert B. In war on AIDS a tangle of rules about tracing, testing and telling. New York Times. 9 July 1989, E6. Google Scholar7. ToomeyCates KW. Partner notification for the prevention of HIV infection. AIDS. 1989;3(Suppl 1):S57-S62. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. WykoffHeathHollis RCS. Contact tracing to identify human immunodeficiency virus infection in a rural community. JAMA. 1988;259:3563-6. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. PotteratSpencerWoodhouseMuth JNDJ. Partner notification in the control of human immunodeficiency virus infection. Am J Public Health. 1989;79:874-6. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. RutherfordWoo GJ. Contact tracing and the control of human immunodeficiency virus infection. JAMA. 1988;259:3609-10. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. Brennan T. AIDS and the limits of confidentiality: the physicians duty to warn contacts of seropositive individuals. J Gen Intern Med. 1989;4:242-6. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. LevineBayer CR. The ethics of screening for early intervention in HIV disease. Am J Public Health. 1989;79:1661-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. FrancisAndersonGorman DRM. Targeting AIDS prevention and treatment toward HIV-1-infected persons. The concept of early intervention. JAMA. 1989;262:2572-6. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Allan M. Brandt, PhD Nextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byTıp fakültesi öğrencilerinin aile planlaması ve cinsel yolla bulaşan hastalıklar ile ilgili sağlık bilgileriThe Legacy of Sexually Transmitted Disease ResearchPrevalence, burden, and control of syphilis in Haiti's rural artibonite regionNucleic Acid Amplification Assays for Sexually Transmitted DiseasesContact tracing and sexually transmitted disease among Aboriginal men on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara landsScreening and Empiric Treatment for Syphilis in an Inner-city Emergency DepartmentAscertaining exposure categories of HIV‐infected individuals with previously unrecorded risk dataPartner notification for control of HIV: results after 2 years of a statewide program in Utah.Emergency department-based surveillance for syphilis during an outbreak in PhiladelphiaHIV prevention and the two faces of partner notification.Results of a Randomized Trial of Partner Notification in Cases of HIV Infection in North CarolinaPartner Notification: Operational ConsiderationsPublic health intervention in a cocaine-related syphilis outbreak.A survey of emergency department communicable disease reporting practicesPreventing the spread of HIV infection.Condoms as a primary method of contraception.Partner NotificationPeter E. Dans, MD 1 April 1990Volume 112, Issue 7Page: 481-483KeywordsHealth promotionInfectious disease controlPrevention, policy, and public healthPublic policySexually transmitted diseasesSurgeonsSyphilis ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 April 1990 PDF downloadLoading ...