Measles: A History

This major worldwide study of the disease is in three parts. In Part One, Measles traces the aggressive spread of this Old World disease in the last century, following the settlement of the Americas and the opening up of Australasia. Part Two of the book looks at the disease in its heyday, as a major worldwide killer in the first half of this century. Part Three traces the rolling back of the map over the last thirty years with mass vaccination programmes reducing the impact of measles, first in the United States, then in other developed countries, and finally with WHO help in the developing world itself.

Table of Contents:
Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. Prologue.1. Introduction.2. The Nature of Measles.3. The Early History of Measles.Part I: Expansion (1840-1910):4. Old World Reservoir Areas.5. Measles in the New World.6. The Invasion of the Pacific.Part II: Consolidation (1911-1964):7. Measles in War and Depression.8. Measles in the Post War Years.Part III: Retreat (1965-1990):9. Vaccination: the United States Campaigns.10. Vaccinations in other Developed Countries.11. Measles in the Rest of the World.Part IV: Generalizations:12. The Historical Pattern in Time.13. The Geographical Pattern in Space. 14. Modelling Geographical Spread. 15. Forecasting Geographical Spread. Epilogue 16. Prospects for Eradication. References and Author Index. Subject Index.

Review :
"This is a valuable work and a significant extension of the authors' earlier studies." Medical History "A splendid book on the history and geography of the infection. Here is an excellent book. The writing is clear, the figures are outstanding, and the book is well produced. It will provide an enjoyable as well as an instructive read for anyone with an interest in infectious diseases." The Lancet "The authors have produced in this single volume the most extensive and authoritative account of measles to date. The book is impressive in every way. The narrative is immensely readable and highly informative. The text is beautifully presented. The numerous charts, maps, models and photographs are exceptionally well portrayed. The scope and coverage of the subject is vast, spanning several millennia and the whole globe and incorporating a clear interdisciplinary approach. The book blends many fascinating contemporary accounts illustrating the history of measles with an array of quantitative data, reconstructed by the authors from unpublished and published series of mortality and morbidity statistics. Measles will be an invaluable reference for geographers, epidemiologists, medical historians, scientists and scholars in a range of fields." Progress in Human Geography