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Histoplasmosis is a fungal disease that is widely endemic in much of the world. In the central United States, including the broad reaches of the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, the majority of adults are infected with the causative fungus. Most infected individuals handle this infection well, but a few do become sick. Over the years there have been a number of outbreaks or epidemics with many persons becoming severely ill and some dying as a result. This is the story of the discovery of histoplasmosis in 1905 and the subsequent development of knowledge concerning its etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnostic challenges, clinical manifestations, and treatment. Uniquely qualified to tell this tale, Daniel and Baum base their study on original source material not previously available.
The story of histoplasmosis spans the twentieth century, from its discovery by Samuel Taylor Darling in Panama to the development of effective drug treatment near the century's end. The book epitomizes the growth of medical knowledge through the confluence of ideas and information arising from the work of many individual investigators, a recurrent theme in the history of medicine. Daniel and Baum include much original and previously unreported material derived from Baum's direct involvement with the unraveling of the pathogenesis of the disease and his personal knowledge of the people and events detailed in this book.
List of contents
Introduction
All but One
In the Beginning
A Carpenter from Martinique, Samuel Taylor Darling, and Double Dose Discovery
The Bug, the Body, and the Battle
Rare to Well Done: Rocks in the Lungs and Two Tell-Tale Tests
Epidemics are for the Birds--and Bats
More than a Janus Disease
To Treat or Not to Treat
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
About the author
Thomas M. Daniel is an emeritus professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. During his academic career, he took many summer vacations with his family in the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area. Thus, he writes from personal experience of the canoe routes and portages in this book, his sixth work of fiction, which follows on numerous academic publications.
Summary
Uniquely qualified to tell this tale, Daniel and Baum base their study on original source material not previously available. The story of histoplasmosis spans the twentieth century, from its discovery by Samuel Taylor Darling in Panama to the development of effective drug treatment near the century's end.
