The Mississippi Valley disease: histoplasmosis
- Alternate Title(s):
- Histoplasmosis
- Series Title(s):
- Highroads to health series
- Contributor(s):
- Furcolow, Michael L., 1907- Lehan, Patrick H. Ruhe, David S. (David Sieger), 1914-2005 University of Kansas. Television. Kansas Tuberculosis & Health Association. Communicable Disease Center (U.S.)
- Publication:
- [Lawrence, KS] : University of Kansas, [1956]
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Moving image
- Subject(s):
- Histoplasmosis Histoplasmosis -- epidemiology United States -- epidemiology
- Abstract:
- In this film, a host and two doctors examine histoplasmosis, also called the Mississippi Valley disease. The host first shows a little girl who has been hospitalized for months and has an enlarged spleen and liver due to histoplasmosis, and explains that she is in the company of 30 million others suffering from the disease. He then introduces a doctor who is a leading authority on histoplasmosis, who explains that around 80 percent of all people living in the Mississippi Valley area have had the disease at some point in their lives. He checks the skin test of the host, and says the host himself had the disease at one point in his life, and he probably just didn't know because it was so mild. The doctor shows a film about two men, Frank and his son David, who are working to clear a silo of bird droppings and feathers. David gets very ill, and Frank gets mildly ill. They are originally thought to have TB, and it is explained that x-ray results for tuberculosis and histoplasmosis are almost identical. Researchers declared the bird droppings responsible. The doctor explains that while histoplasmosis was once a mystery, doctors now know where it comes from, how it's spread, and how to cure it. He explains that city dwellers often get the disease by visiting the country, and it is usually caught after exposure to barns or silos where livestock have lived. The doctor then shows another film, this time featuring a mother, father, grandmother, and four children who recently moved to a farm. All but the grandmother grow ill, and though it is first believed to be typhoid, their doctors then realize that it is histoplasmosis. They are all treated and the source of the infection is identified as the barn. The doctor concludes the film by checking the skin tests of members of the camera crew and audience, showing that all those with positive tests are from the Mississippi Valley area, and urging people to be cautious around livestock.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 030 min.
- Color:
- Black and white
- Sound:
- Sound
- Credits:
- Michael L. Furcolow, Patrick H. Lehan ; written and narrated by R. Edwin Browne ; motion pictures by Training Branch, C.D.C., Public Health Service [and] William M. McGrew ; art work by Jo Ann Clifford ; produced by David S. Ruhe, Bruce A.Linton ; directed by Harold Barron.
- Provenance:
- Received: (date unknown) as a donation from the National Library of Medicine.
- Technique:
- Live action
- NLM Unique ID:
- 8800010A (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/8800010A