Introduction: Reimagining Epidemics.

Over the past year, historians of medicine have found our discipline invested with a new sense of relevance. In trying to make sense of epidemics past and present, many of us have been substantially influenced by Charles Rosenberg's 1989 Daedalus essay, "What Is an Epidemic? AIDS in Historical Perspective." Writing in the middle of another unfolding global pandemic, Rosenberg suggested that all epidemics possessed similar forms of social choreography, and that applying a narrative framework could help to understand their sequence, structure, and social impact. This issue of the Bulletin offers contributions from thirteen scholars working in various geographic, chronological, and thematic areas that engage with Rosenberg's fundamental historical question about what defines an epidemic, although the question takes on different forms, and different forms of urgency, in each of their works.

The Fielding H. Garrison Lecture: "Break-Bone" Fever in Philadelphia, 1780: Reflections on the History of Disease.

In the Autumn of 1780 an epidemic hit the city of Philadelphia. The symptoms of the disease resembled those of present day dengue fever, and subsequent observers argued that the disease was in fact dengue. But was it? The question forces us to confront the challenges of retrospective epidemiology and how we examine the history of a disease. This paper examines the 1780 epidemic from two perspectives. First, it looks at evidence that the disease was dengue and examines what this tells us about the epidemic and the conditions that caused it. Second, it looks at the disease from the perspective of Dr. Benjamin Rush, who treated hundreds of patients during the epidemic. In other words, it examines the disease through the lens of eighteenth century medical ideas. The paper concludes that each approach is valuable and reveals different aspects of the relationship between society and disease.

Coercion and polio eradication efforts in Moradabad.

We introduce the problem of vaccine coercion as reported in Moradabad, India. We offer commentary and critical analysis on ethical complexities at the intersection of global public health and regional political strife and relate them to broader vaccine goals. We draw upon a historical example from malaria vaccine efforts, focusing specifically on ethical and health justice issues expressed through the use of coercion in vaccine administration. We suggest how coercion is indicative of failed leadership in public health and consider community-based collaborations as models for cultivating local investment and trust in vaccination campaigns and for success in global public health initiatives.

Health, colonialism, and development: an interview with historian Randall Packard. Interview by Gilberto Hochman, Jaime Benchimol and Magali Romero Sá.

Interview with Randall Packard, William H. Welch Professor of the History of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University and co-editor of the Bulletin of the History of Medicine. Speaking about his academic career, his activities as an editor, and his main works, Professor Packard addresses the topics of health and disease in the history of Africa; the relation between disease eradication programs and the ideology of development; the malaria eradication program; medicine, international health, and colonialism; academic production in the history of medicine in the Anglo-Saxon world; and the dynamics of scientific publishing in the field of the history of medicine.

Emerging illnesses and society: negotiating the public health agenda

Book originated from a seminar that explored the themes of emerging diseases, environmental risks, community activism, public health and institutional responsibility. The seminar also included activists involved in efforts to support health professionals and affected local communities.

Emerging illnesses and society: negotiating the public health agenda

Livro originado de um seminário que explorou os temas das doenças emergentes, riscos ambientais, ativismo comunitário, saúde pública e responsabilidade institucional. O seminário também incluiu ativistas envolvidos nos esforços para apoiar profissionais de saúde e as comunidades locais afetadas.(AU)

The global impact of drug resistance.

Measuring the impact of drug resistance is an important step in understanding the scope of the problem and formulating policies to limit the emergence and spread of resistant organisms. Studies have focused on measuring the increased costs, morbidity, and mortality in patients with infections due to resistant versus susceptible organisms. These have generally found that resistance worsens outcomes. By focusing only on infected patients, however, they may understate the impact of resistance. It is important to recognize that resistance also affects the treatment of individuals with nonresistant organisms. In areas with high rates of resistance, physicians and governments have changed empiric therapy for malaria, tuberculosis, acute respiratory infections, and other diseases, increasing overall treatment costs. In some instances, these costs may exceed those attributable to treatment failure.

Malaria dreams: postwar visions of health and development in the Third World

It describes the global program for the eradication of malaria, voted in 1955 by the World Health Assembly, analyzing the reasons why it failed in most of the developing world.(MAM)