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June 2003, Vol 93, No. 6 | American Journal of Public Health 886-893
© 2003 American Public Health Association

PUBLIC HEALTH THEN AND NOW

Characterizing a "New" Disease: Epizootic and Epidemic Anthrax, 1769–1780

David M. Morens, MD

David M. Morens is with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, and the University of Hawaii School of Medicine, Honolulu.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to David M. Morens, MD, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 6610 Rockledge Dr, Room 4097, Bethesda, MD 20892-6603 (e-mail: dm270q{at}nih.gov).

In 1876, Robert Koch established anthrax as the first disease linked to a microbial agent. But Koch’s efforts had followed more than 150 years of scientific progress in characterizing anthrax as a specific human and veterinary disease.

Focusing on France and the period between 1769 and 1780, this brief review examines noteworthy early events in the characterization of anthrax. It suggests that some "new" diseases like anthrax might be "discovered" not only by luck, brilliance, or new technologies, but by clinical/epidemiological "puzzle-fitting," which can assemble a cohesive picture of a seemingly specific disease entity.

If such processes have operated over 2 or more centuries, studying them may yield clues about desirable interactions between epidemiology/public health and experimental science in the characterization of new diseases.






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