"Cholera, the blue death , spread across the globe in the 19th century, killing and sickening mil... more "Cholera, the blue death , spread across the globe in the 19th century, killing and sickening millions. Hamilton Ontario was a small town when cholera arrived in the summer of 1832, and a growing city when it returned in 1854.
Written by a class of fourth-year Anthropology students at McMaster University, this book tell the story of these epidemics and their impact on the people of Hamilton: who died, who was blamed, how life changed during the epidemics, how the disease was understood and treated, and its lasting legacy to the city. "
Plagues and Epidemics : Infected Spaces Past and Present
180 D. Ann Herring and Stacy Lockerbie In this essay we consider the story line for the coming pl... more 180 D. Ann Herring and Stacy Lockerbie In this essay we consider the story line for the coming plague, as expressed through fears about avian influenza, and the widespread communication of this story line through official international bodies such as the World Health ...
Cholera is an ancient disease that has been feared for centuries. It often appears suddenly, seem... more Cholera is an ancient disease that has been feared for centuries. It often appears suddenly, seems to spread rapidly and inexplicably and, in the absence of effective treatment, kills quite violently. It has had many nicknames, including ���King Cholera��� and ���the blue death"(due to the bluish pallor of its victims). Although it is still very much present in the world today, cholera remains the quintessential disease of 19th-century cities, the disease that drove improvements in water sources, sewer construction, and public health in ...
Ten years later, the IOM (2008) reported that an eager new generation of philan-thropists, studen... more Ten years later, the IOM (2008) reported that an eager new generation of philan-thropists, students, scientists, private industry leaders, and citizens offer the promise of potential solutions to global health. The health social sciences, including medical anthropology, thus face ...
This is an edited volume. Part 1, comprising six articles, addresses dimensions of contemporary p... more This is an edited volume. Part 1, comprising six articles, addresses dimensions of contemporary public health approaches to TB, Part 2, comprising five articles, analyses historical policies that contributed to disproportionately high levels of TB among indigenous people in both nations, and Part 3, five articles, presents experiencenear accounts of individuals, families and communities coping with TB in daily life. The individual studies speak to the power of ethnography and ethnohistory in analysing infectious disease and the societies in which it exists.
Quarantine is often proposed and sometimes used to control the spread of infectious diseases thro... more Quarantine is often proposed and sometimes used to control the spread of infectious diseases through a human population. Yet there is usually little or no information on the effectiveness of attempting to quarantine humans that is not of an anecdotal or conjectural nature. This paper describes how a compartmental model for the geographic spread of infectious diseases can be used to address the potential effectiveness of human quarantine. The model is applied to data from the historical record in central Canada around the time of the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. Information on the daily mobility patterns of individuals engaged in the fur trade throughout the region prior to, during, and immediately after the epidemic are used to determine whether rates of travel were affected by informal quarantine policies imposed by community leaders. The model is then used to assess the impact of observed differences in travel on the spread of the epidemic. Results show that when mobility rates are very low, as in this region, quarantine practices must be highly effective before they alter disease patterns significantly. Simulation results suggest, though, that effectiveness varies depending on when the limitation on travel between communities is implemented and how long it lasts, and that a policy of introducing quarantine at the earliest possible time may not always lead to the greatest reduction in cases of a disease.
This study examines the roles of age, period, and cohort in influenza mortality trends over the y... more This study examines the roles of age, period, and cohort in influenza mortality trends over the years 1959–2016 in the United States. First, we use Lexis surfaces based on Serfling models to highlight influenza mortality patterns as well as to identify lingering effects of early-life exposure to specific influenza virus subtypes (e.g., H1N1, H3N2). Second, we use age-period-cohort (APC) methods to explore APC linear trends and identify changes in the slope of these trends (contrasts). Our analyses reveal a series of breakpoints where the magnitude and direction of birth cohort trends significantly change, mostly corresponding to years in which important antigenic drifts or shifts took place (i.e., 1947, 1957, 1968, and 1978). Whereas child, youth, and adult influenza mortality appear to be influenced by a combination of cohort- and period-specific factors, reflecting the interaction between the antigenic experience of the population and the evolution of the influenza virus itself, m...
Recent outbreaks of H5, H7, and H9 influenza A viruses in humans have served as a vivid reminder ... more Recent outbreaks of H5, H7, and H9 influenza A viruses in humans have served as a vivid reminder of the potentially devastating effects that a novel pandemic could exert on the modern world. Those who have survived infections with influenza viruses in the past have been protected from subsequent antigenically similar pandemics through adaptive immunity. For example, during the 2009 H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic, those exposed to H1N1 viruses that circulated between 1918 and the 1940s were at a decreased risk for mortality as a result of their previous immunity. It is also generally thought that past exposures to antigenically dissimilar strains of influenza virus may also be beneficial due to cross-reactive cellular immunity. However, cohorts born during prior heterosubtypic pandemics have previously experienced elevated risk of death relative to surrounding cohorts of the same population. Indeed, individuals born during the 1890 H3Nx pandemic experienced the highest levels of...
This study examines secular trends in the magnitude of inbreeding in the Jewish community of Gibr... more This study examines secular trends in the magnitude of inbreeding in the Jewish community of Gibraltar over a 120 year period. Analysis of isonymous unions by socioeconomic status revealed distinctive differences between high versus mid/low status unions. Factors responsible for the elevated rate of inbreeding among the professional/mercantile class and its secular trend are discussed.
Patterns of transmission of infectious diseases within and among populations are strongly affecte... more Patterns of transmission of infectious diseases within and among populations are strongly affected by population structure, which can either facilitate or limit interactions among people from different groups. Results from several theoretical studies show that nonrandom mixing among subgroups can affect the time when an infectious disease is introduced to the population, the speed of propagation of the disease, and the severity of an epidemic. Because many of these models focus on the effects of population structure, they are functionally similar to models used to describe the genetic structure of a population. One major difference between genetic models and epidemic models is that genetic models, with a time scale of the order of generations, incorporate migrations (or permanent movement) among subgroups, whereas epidemic models, with a time scale of the order of days or weeks, must incorporate short-term mobility among subgroups. Such mobility can be included in models for epidemic spread by explicitly incorporating the process by which residents from different locations interact with one another. We present a derivation of a mobility model for epidemic processes and apply it to the spread of the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic among the Cree and Métis people associated with three Hudson's Bay Company posts in the central Canadian Subarctic. The model distinguishes mobility from population effects. Results indicate that social organization (population effects) and social responses to the epidemic were more important than movement patterns (mobility) in explaining the differential impact of this virgin soil epidemic on the three study communities.
"Cholera, the blue death , spread across the globe in the 19th century, killing and sickening mil... more "Cholera, the blue death , spread across the globe in the 19th century, killing and sickening millions. Hamilton Ontario was a small town when cholera arrived in the summer of 1832, and a growing city when it returned in 1854.
Written by a class of fourth-year Anthropology students at McMaster University, this book tell the story of these epidemics and their impact on the people of Hamilton: who died, who was blamed, how life changed during the epidemics, how the disease was understood and treated, and its lasting legacy to the city. "
Plagues and Epidemics : Infected Spaces Past and Present
180 D. Ann Herring and Stacy Lockerbie In this essay we consider the story line for the coming pl... more 180 D. Ann Herring and Stacy Lockerbie In this essay we consider the story line for the coming plague, as expressed through fears about avian influenza, and the widespread communication of this story line through official international bodies such as the World Health ...
Cholera is an ancient disease that has been feared for centuries. It often appears suddenly, seem... more Cholera is an ancient disease that has been feared for centuries. It often appears suddenly, seems to spread rapidly and inexplicably and, in the absence of effective treatment, kills quite violently. It has had many nicknames, including ���King Cholera��� and ���the blue death"(due to the bluish pallor of its victims). Although it is still very much present in the world today, cholera remains the quintessential disease of 19th-century cities, the disease that drove improvements in water sources, sewer construction, and public health in ...
Ten years later, the IOM (2008) reported that an eager new generation of philan-thropists, studen... more Ten years later, the IOM (2008) reported that an eager new generation of philan-thropists, students, scientists, private industry leaders, and citizens offer the promise of potential solutions to global health. The health social sciences, including medical anthropology, thus face ...
This is an edited volume. Part 1, comprising six articles, addresses dimensions of contemporary p... more This is an edited volume. Part 1, comprising six articles, addresses dimensions of contemporary public health approaches to TB, Part 2, comprising five articles, analyses historical policies that contributed to disproportionately high levels of TB among indigenous people in both nations, and Part 3, five articles, presents experiencenear accounts of individuals, families and communities coping with TB in daily life. The individual studies speak to the power of ethnography and ethnohistory in analysing infectious disease and the societies in which it exists.
Quarantine is often proposed and sometimes used to control the spread of infectious diseases thro... more Quarantine is often proposed and sometimes used to control the spread of infectious diseases through a human population. Yet there is usually little or no information on the effectiveness of attempting to quarantine humans that is not of an anecdotal or conjectural nature. This paper describes how a compartmental model for the geographic spread of infectious diseases can be used to address the potential effectiveness of human quarantine. The model is applied to data from the historical record in central Canada around the time of the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. Information on the daily mobility patterns of individuals engaged in the fur trade throughout the region prior to, during, and immediately after the epidemic are used to determine whether rates of travel were affected by informal quarantine policies imposed by community leaders. The model is then used to assess the impact of observed differences in travel on the spread of the epidemic. Results show that when mobility rates are very low, as in this region, quarantine practices must be highly effective before they alter disease patterns significantly. Simulation results suggest, though, that effectiveness varies depending on when the limitation on travel between communities is implemented and how long it lasts, and that a policy of introducing quarantine at the earliest possible time may not always lead to the greatest reduction in cases of a disease.
This study examines the roles of age, period, and cohort in influenza mortality trends over the y... more This study examines the roles of age, period, and cohort in influenza mortality trends over the years 1959–2016 in the United States. First, we use Lexis surfaces based on Serfling models to highlight influenza mortality patterns as well as to identify lingering effects of early-life exposure to specific influenza virus subtypes (e.g., H1N1, H3N2). Second, we use age-period-cohort (APC) methods to explore APC linear trends and identify changes in the slope of these trends (contrasts). Our analyses reveal a series of breakpoints where the magnitude and direction of birth cohort trends significantly change, mostly corresponding to years in which important antigenic drifts or shifts took place (i.e., 1947, 1957, 1968, and 1978). Whereas child, youth, and adult influenza mortality appear to be influenced by a combination of cohort- and period-specific factors, reflecting the interaction between the antigenic experience of the population and the evolution of the influenza virus itself, m...
Recent outbreaks of H5, H7, and H9 influenza A viruses in humans have served as a vivid reminder ... more Recent outbreaks of H5, H7, and H9 influenza A viruses in humans have served as a vivid reminder of the potentially devastating effects that a novel pandemic could exert on the modern world. Those who have survived infections with influenza viruses in the past have been protected from subsequent antigenically similar pandemics through adaptive immunity. For example, during the 2009 H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic, those exposed to H1N1 viruses that circulated between 1918 and the 1940s were at a decreased risk for mortality as a result of their previous immunity. It is also generally thought that past exposures to antigenically dissimilar strains of influenza virus may also be beneficial due to cross-reactive cellular immunity. However, cohorts born during prior heterosubtypic pandemics have previously experienced elevated risk of death relative to surrounding cohorts of the same population. Indeed, individuals born during the 1890 H3Nx pandemic experienced the highest levels of...
This study examines secular trends in the magnitude of inbreeding in the Jewish community of Gibr... more This study examines secular trends in the magnitude of inbreeding in the Jewish community of Gibraltar over a 120 year period. Analysis of isonymous unions by socioeconomic status revealed distinctive differences between high versus mid/low status unions. Factors responsible for the elevated rate of inbreeding among the professional/mercantile class and its secular trend are discussed.
Patterns of transmission of infectious diseases within and among populations are strongly affecte... more Patterns of transmission of infectious diseases within and among populations are strongly affected by population structure, which can either facilitate or limit interactions among people from different groups. Results from several theoretical studies show that nonrandom mixing among subgroups can affect the time when an infectious disease is introduced to the population, the speed of propagation of the disease, and the severity of an epidemic. Because many of these models focus on the effects of population structure, they are functionally similar to models used to describe the genetic structure of a population. One major difference between genetic models and epidemic models is that genetic models, with a time scale of the order of generations, incorporate migrations (or permanent movement) among subgroups, whereas epidemic models, with a time scale of the order of days or weeks, must incorporate short-term mobility among subgroups. Such mobility can be included in models for epidemic spread by explicitly incorporating the process by which residents from different locations interact with one another. We present a derivation of a mobility model for epidemic processes and apply it to the spread of the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic among the Cree and Métis people associated with three Hudson's Bay Company posts in the central Canadian Subarctic. The model distinguishes mobility from population effects. Results indicate that social organization (population effects) and social responses to the epidemic were more important than movement patterns (mobility) in explaining the differential impact of this virgin soil epidemic on the three study communities.
American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, Jan 26, 2015
This article evaluates the evidence for the presence of the first, mild wave of the 1918 influenz... more This article evaluates the evidence for the presence of the first, mild wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic among soldiers in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Death records for soldiers in the CEF who died in Canada in 1917 and 1918 were extracted from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and record-linked to the Canada War Graves Registers, Circumstances of Casualty database. Monthly mortality rates from pneumonia and influenza (P&I) were compared with mortality rates from all other causes for 1917 and 1918, and by region for 1918. The herald wave of influenza was present among CEF soldiers in 1918. P&I mortality was significantly higher in March and April 1918 than during the same period in 1917. P&I mortality rates varied across the country and were significantly higher among soldiers who died in the Maritime region of Canada. In March, Maritime P&I mortality was significantly higher than its counterpart in the West; in April it was significantly higher than P&I mortalit...
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Edited Books by Ann Herring
Written by a class of fourth-year Anthropology students at McMaster University, this book tell the story of these epidemics and their impact on the people of Hamilton: who died, who was blamed, how life changed during the epidemics, how the disease was understood and treated, and its lasting legacy to the city. "
Papers by Ann Herring
Written by a class of fourth-year Anthropology students at McMaster University, this book tell the story of these epidemics and their impact on the people of Hamilton: who died, who was blamed, how life changed during the epidemics, how the disease was understood and treated, and its lasting legacy to the city. "