title: How four once common diseases were eliminated from the American South.
abstract: Four major diseases stigmatized the American South in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: yellow fever, malaria, hookworm, and pellagra. Each disease contributed to the inhibition of economic growth in the South, and the latter three severely affected children's development and adult workers' productivity. However, all four had largely disappeared from the region by 1950. This paper analyzes the reasons for this disappearance. It describes the direct effects of public health interventions and the indirect effects of prosperity and other facets of economic development. It also offers insights into the invaluable benefits that could be gained if today's neglected diseases were also eliminated.
authors.affiliation: History of Medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, USA. meh@duke.edu
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Humphreys
mesh_terms: D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006725:Hookworm Infections / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010383:Pellagra / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history*; D015144:Southeastern United States; D015004:Yellow Fever / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control