[Of mice and men: social impact of an emerging illness].

Des na'atoosi et des hommes: l'impact social d'une maladie émergente.

Publisher: Springer Nature Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 0372714 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0008-4263 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00084263 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Can J Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Switzerland : Springer Nature
Original Publication: Ottawa : Canadian Public Health Association

Culture* ; Disease Outbreaks*; Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome/*epidemiology; Adult ; Attitude to Health ; Female ; Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome/prevention & control ; Humans ; Indians, North American ; Male ; United States ; United States Indian Health Service

In response to unexplained deaths in an Indian reserve of the southwestern United States, a fascinating scientific investigation rapidly led to the identification of a new infectious syndrome, the "Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome". The health promotion campaign that followed was remarkable for its large scale and for the efficiency of its delivery, but was not well received by the people on the reserve. This article demonstrates that the preventive guidelines were incompatible with the natives' popular beliefs and that the social trauma caused by the intervention could have been avoided since within the Indian tradition the disease was already well-defined and effective preventive means had been developed.

MMWR Recomm Rep. 1993 Jul 30;42(RR-11):1-13. (PMID: 8413156)

Date Created: 19970301 Date Completed: 19970808 Latest Revision: 20200205

20240628

PMC6990346

9254276