| Date | 1900 |
| Author | Reed |
| Contribution | With Vaughan and Shakespeare, reported that people may harbor, and disseminate, the bacillus of typhoid fever without themselves becoming ill. |
| Reference | Cirillo |
| Notes | That some healthy individuals can be typhoid 'carriers' was recognized during the Spanish-American War of 1898. The 'carrier' state, a very important bacteriological and epidemiological concept, was recognized by medical personnel reviewing disastrous typhoid outbreaks that had occurred in military encampments within the United States of America prior to August 1898. The essence of their findings was published in 1900. As pointed out by Cirillo, credit for discovery of the carrier state is usully accorded to Koch, although the phenomenon had previously been described in unmistakeable terms by Reed and his colleagues. Koch's finding was announced in 1902 and published in 1903 (and not eligible for inclusion in the Germ Theory Timeline). Budd's recognition of post-convalescence persistence of infection is a different issue. |
| Category | Miscellany |
| Pathogen Class | Bacteria |
Copyright © 2007- William C. Campbell. All rights reserved.