Researching Federal Initiatives and Federal Response to Mass Immunizations

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Public Health History Landmark Moments The field of public health has expanded substantially since the days of leprosy and the Black Death in Europe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2011), with advancements in technology, sanitation, immunizations, regulation, and a focused effort on health education, “life expectancy at birth among US residents increased by 62 percent from 47.3 years in 1900 to 76.8 in 2000” (para. 1).

The complete history of public health is a fascinating journey. The following landmark moments in public health are just the highlights, with many more moments contributing to the health and safety of people and communities.

Year Event

1600 This century marked the onset of smallpox as an epidemic disease among the US colonies.

1701

In July of this year, the Massachusetts Quarantine Act mandated that those who brought infectious diseases within the colony were to pay all of the associated costs and damages of individuals who were infected.

1793

The national capital of the United States of America had to be moved out of Philadelphia due to the yellow fever epidemic.

1796 Edward Jenner successfully used vaccination for small pox in the United Kingdom. Small pox was finally eradicated globally in 1977.

1798 On July 16, President John Adams established the Marine Hospital Services Act. The act was created for the relief of sick and disabled

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seamen and led to the formation of several marine hospitals located at sea and in river ports throughout the U.S.

1807 On November 27, Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse was appointed the first physician in charge of the Boston Hospital. Being a supporter of Edward Jenner’s method of cowpox vaccination, he was the first doctor to test the smallpox vaccine in the U.S.

1842

It was in this year that Edwin Chadwick published the first of a series of documents that stimulated social reforms and an awakening to sanitary practices.

1848 As Britain was evolving into the first industrialized nation, they were plagued with increasing public health threats, especially cholera. After cholera had arrived in Britain at the end of 1831, intervention was necessary, and the government passed the First Public Health Act in 1848.

1854 John Snow used the germ theory of disease to discover the cause of the reemerging cholera outbreak in London. Snow’s ability to collect and analyze data allowed him to determine causation and benefitted public health practices across the globe.

1878 On April 29, the First Federal Quarantine Act was passed. This allowed the US Congress to appropriate funds for investigating the origin and causes of disease epidemics.

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1879 On March 3, the National Board of Health was created, which represented the first federally organized medical research effort.

1902 On July 1, the Marine Hospital Service had its name changed to the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. An advisory board was established for the Hygienic Laboratory, which later came to be known as the National Advisory Health Council.

1912 By August 14, as more functions were added to the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, the name was changed again to the Public Health Service. The research program was expanded to include chronic diseases, pollution, and dissemination of information.

1928 Through his experiments, bacteriologist Alexander Fleming noticed that a mold developed on a Petri dish in his lab had created a bacteria-free circle around itself. The mold was an antibacterial agent that could kill many harmful bacteria. He named the active agent penicillin.

1929 On January 19, the Narcotics Control Act was passed and two hospitals treating drug addiction were eventually constructed. The Public Health Service also created a narcotics division.

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1942

On February 1, Dr. Rolla Eugene Dyer was appointed the first director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Dyer's major research contributions were in the field of infectious diseases; in particular, endemic typhus. He demonstrated how endemic typhus spreads and helped develop a vaccine to protect against the disease.

1946 On July 1, 1946, the CDC was established and occupied one floor of a small building in Atlanta, Georgia.

1948 On August 1, the National Heart Institute was established in the U.S. to develop expertise in heart disease research and cardiovascular disease. The agency is now known as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

1961 On February 17, the Surgeon General established the Center for Research in Child Health in the Division of General Medical Sciences.

1989 The month of January marked the establishment of the National Center for Human Genome Research. The institute partnered with the US Department of Energy and began mapping the human genome. The information was used to apply genome technologies to the study of specific diseases. The agency is now known as the National Human Genome Research Institute.

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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2011). Ten great public health achievements—United States, 2001–2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 60(19), 619–623.

National Institutes of Health. (2012). The NIH almanac: Chronology of events. Retrieved from http://www.nih.gov/about/almanac/historical/chronology_of_events.htm