Anthropology 200 Fall 2004 Marlene Obermeyer’s lecture notes:
The War on Microbes notes: ( powerpoint lecture)
The Second Golden Age of Microbiology (1943-1970)( source:
A)molecular genetics
B)antibiotics & chemotherapy dance on microorganisms
C)isolated the mold & identified it as a species of Penicillium
D)an American drug company developed large-scale production of penicillin & made it commercially available
1969, US Surgeon General William Stewart declared to Congress that it was time to "close the books on infectious diseases"
Culture specific diseases:
Culture bound syndrome
Disease, culture and conquest:
"They called me mad, and I called them mad, and damn them, they outvoted me."
Crowd diseases:
Global Diseases and implications for the United States
Microbiology
The Third Golden Age of Microbiology - Now!
A) coincides with the rise in biotechnology
1) genetic engineers created microorganisms that can produce human proteins
2) microorganisms used in gene cloning & creating chromosomal libraries (genomics)
3) infectious disease still present
-infectious disease is the second leading cause of death (mortality) & the leading cause of disability (morbidity) in the world
B) challenges for the future
1) antibiotic resistance
a) many pathogens have evolved resistance to antibiotics & other antimicrobial drugs
b) due to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics by physicians, poor patient compliance with antibiotic regimens, & the use of antibiotics in animal feeds
2) emerging & reemerging infectious diseases
a) emerging infectious diseases
i) have recently surfaced in a population
ii) AIDS, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Lyme disease, mad cow disease & SARS
b) reemerging infectious diseases
i) have existed in the past but are now showing a resurgence in incidence or change in geographic area
ii) cholera, tuberculosis, dengue fever, & West Nile fever
3) bioterrorism
a) the intentional or threatened use of biological agents to cause fear in or actually inflict death or disease upon a large population
b) anthrax, smallpox, & plague
VII) Summary
A) microbes play a huge role in our lives
B) affect us because of infectious diseases
C) but, the beneficial contributions made by microbes far exceed their negative attributes
E)Factors that spread infection:
The environment (climate change, floods, natural disasters, farming, domestication of animals, industrialization, urbanization, population growth)
Wars (Infrastructure destroyed, malnutrition, lowered immunity, refugees, prisoners, mobilization of soldiers, lost knowledge such as the burning of books and libraries)
Religion and beliefs (the Dark Ages, beliefs in witchcraft, the Church, opposition to change seen as challenge to authority)
Lack of scientific and technical knowledge ( Until the technology to “see” the microbes that cause diseases, man attributed disease to magico-religious, or social/lifestyle factors).
Governments: Lack of stability and organisation before the modern period (with the exception of the Romans) prevented progress in public health.
Laissez faire prevented action on public health problems such as cholera during the Industrial Revolution in Britain
Opposition to increased spending.
Health care disparities between poor and rich
THE MCKEOWN THESIS : Social conditions as root causes of health of populations.
Nosocomial infections: acquired in health care institutions
Evolution of microbes:Microbes:What They Do & How Antibiotics Change Them:
Personal and ethical values, cultural and social causes: How personal, cultural, and community health, natural and human-induced hazards, and science and technology affect local, national, and global challenges in the spread of disease.
World Health Organization report on Infectious Diseases:
Questions: (for both the history of medicine lecture and war on microbes lecture)
What is the role of humans in the evolution of disease? How do personal values, culture and social conditions affect how disease is recognized, diagnosed and treated?
What are some significant changes in scientific and technological development in medicine and how have these changes affect the way the United States deal with diseases?