History of Texas Medicine

Texas Fever Frontier: How Deadly Epidemics Shaped the Lone Star State and Will Determine America’s Destiny

Very excited to announce my next book now being written. Published by ⁦@mitpress⁩, the title: Texas Fever Frontier: How Deadly Epidemics Shaped the Lone Star State and Will Determine America’s Destiny I hope it will be a big & epic book bc everything we do in Texas is big

Prior to the introduction of measles vaccine in the early 1960’s, serious measles epidemics among school-aged children occurred in the United States every 2–3 years, typically peaking in winter or spring [1]. During that era, an estimated 50,000 hospitalizations occurred annually, together with 500 deaths and 4,000 cases of measles encephalitis, leading to permanent neurologic complications, deafness, or both, as well as billions of dollars in lost productivity and medical costs.
Globally, the situation was even worse. Measles was one of the leading killers of children, causing millions of deaths annually. Building on the successes of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s smallpox eradication campaign, in 1974, the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) was launched, followed by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance in 2000. Global measles death rates began to decline precipitously. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, measles deaths decreased 83%, from 544,500 measles deaths in 1990 to 95,600 deaths in 2013 [3]. In the US, measles deaths disappeared

The rise of neglected tropical diseases in the “new Texas”

Within the last five years, the State of Texas has experienced either transmission or outbreaks of Ebola, chikungunya, West Nile, and Zika virus infections. Autochthonous transmission of neglected parasitic and bacterial diseases has also become increasingly reported. The rise of such emerging and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has not occurred by accident but instead reflects rapidly evolving changes and shifts in a “new” Texas beset by modern and globalizing forces that include rapid expansions in population together with urbanization and human migrations, altered transportation patterns, climate change, steeply declining vaccination rates, and a new paradigm of poverty known as “blue marble health.” Summarized here are the major NTDs now affecting Texas. In addition to the vector-borne viral diseases highlighted above, there also is a high level of parasitic infections, including Chagas disease, trichomoniasis, and possibly leishmaniasis and toxocariasis, as well as typhus-group rickettsiosis, a vector-borne bacterial infection. I also highlight some of the key shifts in emerging and neglected disease patterns, partly due to an altered and evolving economic and ecological landscape in the new Texas, and provide some preliminary disease burden estimates for the major prevalent and incident NTDs.

Maria Elena Bottazzi and Peter Hotez: The 2022 Dallas Morning News Texans of the Year

Houston microbiologists gave the world a patent-free COVID-19 vaccine and a partnership that could eradicate neglected tropical diseases.

Philosophical Society of Texas

The Philosophical Society of Texas was formed in 1837 by Texans active in founding the Republic and later State of Texas, including Mirabeau Lamar, Anson Jones, and Sam Houston, to “collect and diffuse knowledge”. Lamar served as the first president of the Society, which met for a few years and then went quiet. In 1936, the State’s Centennial Celebration inspired a revival of the Society.
Since then, for over 85 years, the Society has held Annual Meetings around the state without interruption, focusing each year on a theme of importance to Texas and its future. About the focus of its meetings, the Society’s founders wrote “The field of our research is as boundless in its extent and as various in its character as the subjects of knowledge are numberless and diversified.” Speakers at the Annual Meetings have included state and national leaders in research, arts, and world affairs.
Since 1937, the Meeting’s Proceedings have been shared with libraries statewide. Taking advantage of technology, they are now produced both in print and digitally for wider distribution. The Society also bestows annual prizes on significant works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry by Texas authors or about Texas.
The Philosophical Society of Texas is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.