Joseph James Kinyoun : discoverer of bubonic plague in America and father of the National Institutes of Health / Joseph K. Houts, Jr. ; foreword by David M. Morens, M.D.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-272) and index.
Contents:
XVII. Farewells. II. The Marine Hospital Service -- III. The European Influence -- IV. The New Frontier -- V. The Pursuit: 1890-1891 -- VI. A Whirlwind of Discovery and Research: 1891-1894 -- VII. Widening the Realm: 1895-1896 -- VIII. The First Decade -- IX. Abroad Again -- X. War and the Third Pandemic -- XI. 1899: The Year of Great Upheaval -- XII. Angel Island -- XIII. Y. Pestis -- XIV. Venomous Pens -- XV. Darkening Clouds -- XVI. The Price of Truth -- XVII. Farewells.
Summary:
"In March 1900, Dr. Joseph James Kinyoun, a Surgeon with the Marine Hospital Service and student of Louis Pasteur and Dr. Robert Koch, detected bubonic plague in San Francisco, while stationed on Angel Island as a federal quarantine officer. His discovery of the plague led to an immediate outcry from California's governor, local and state politicians, and the city's commercial interests. The hyper-sensationalized journalism of San Francisco's newspapers leapt at the opportunity. Kinyoun would be ridiculed in the press for over a year, leading to death threats and a $50,000 bounty on his head. Eventually, California's quarantine caused an enormous uproar. In time, a special plague commission was installed by the U. S. Treasury Department. After the commissioners completed their report, Supervisory Surgeon-General Walter Wyman withheld it from the public leading to charges of a coverup. In the end, Wyman released the report, which totally vindicated Kinyoun, but a deal had been brokered behind the scenes wherein Kinyoun was removed from his post. This book tells a timely story about yellow journalism, coverup, corruption, the struggle between science and politics, and the consequences of blind denial of the truth"-- Provided by publisher.
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