Insects, Disease, and History

This is a site devoted to understanding the impact that insects have had on world history. This site focuses on the influence of insect-borne disease on history, but it is not solely devoted to that subject. If you are interested in contributing to this site, please contact one of the editors. We welcome your comments and questions.

Features

Flea Rat

The Oriental rat flea, responsible for transmitting Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of bubonic plague.

Letter: Biological Warfare in the 17th Century
(Carus)

Biological Warfare Plan in the 17th Century--the Siege of Candia, 1648-1669
(Thalassinou et al.)

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Conflict in Syria
(Al-Salem et al.)

Reappearance of Chikungunya, Formerly Called Dengue, in the Americas
(Scott Halstead)

Dengue and US Military Operations from the Spanish–American War through Today
(Gibbons et al.)

Clara Maas: An American Heroine
(Dr. Stanton Cope)

The Real Enemy: Scrub Typhus and the Invasion of Sansapor
(Dr. Robert K. D. Peterson)

Charley Patton and His Mississippi Boweavil Blues
(Dr. Robert K. D. Peterson)

Vectors and War: "Desert Storm"
(Joseph Conlon)

The Historical Impact of Epidemic Typhus
(Joseph Conlon)

Yellow Fever: The Scourge Revealed
(Dr. Stanton Cope)

Plague hospital

Napoleon visits the plague hospital at Jaffa.

Essays on Yersinia pestis (the Plague)

Yellow Fever and the Strategy of the Mexican-American War
(Dr. David Tschanz)

Typhus Fever on the Eastern Front in World War I
(Dr. David Tschanz)

The Role of Insects as Biological Weapons
(Dr. Robert K. D. Peterson)

Historical Natural History: Insects and the Civil War
(Dr. Gary Miller)

Insects, Disease, and Military History: The Napoleonic Campaigns and Historical Perception
(Dr. Robert K. D. Peterson)

Diseases And The Insects That Transmit Them (A primer to medical entomology)

Disease, Epidemics, and Historical Periods

bug

The Insects, Disease, and History Internet Web Site received the 1999 Entomology Educational Project Award from the Board Certified Entomologists of Mid-America

Send Comments To: Robert K. D. Peterson