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The Saffron Scourge - by Jo Ann Carrigan (Paperback)
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Highlights
- This ground breaking study is the first to comprehensively examine the history of yellow fever in Louisiana.
- Author(s): Jo Ann Carrigan
- 544 Pages
- History, United States
Description
About the Book
A history of yellow fever in the state of Louisiana from the time of the disease's first appearance in 1796 until its eradication in 1905.Book Synopsis
This ground breaking study is the first to comprehensively examine the history of yellow fever in Louisiana. As the state's largest city and principal port, New Orleans was frequently the center of yellow fever outbreaks. Brought in repeatedly via shipping from Latin American endemic centers, the disease spread from the city throughout the region, carried by infected persons or mosquitoes, along the expanding lines of trade and travel--river, coastal, and later rail. In its numerous attacks spread over more than a century of southern history, the saffron scourge destroyed thousands of lives, cost millions of dollars, and affected almost every facet of community life.
Author Jo Ann Carrigan discusses every major epidemic from 1796 through 1905, with attention to the historical peculiarities of major visitations as well as similarities observed in all yellow fever epidemics. Saffron Scourge then shifts to topical discussions of medical theories and controversies, changing patterns of therapy, the social, political, and economic consequences of yellow fever, and the means by which medical science finally conquered the disease.
Review Quotes
"Saffron Scourge is the definitive account of yellow fever in Louisiana . . . it is unlikely that this work, grounded as it is in a thorough reading of primary manuscripts and medical sources, will be superseded in its careful telling of this powerful story." - Journal of Southern History "Saffron Scourge is a significant contribution to both the history of the South and the History of Medicine." - Louisiana History "Jo Ann Carrigan's history of yellow fever in Louisiana from 1796 through 1905 is a strong example . . . for those working in public health, epidemiology, or medical ethics, [that] an informed acquaintance with the historical record can be both revealing and consoling." - The New England Journal of Medicine
