The second published report on what later became the AIDS epidemic. The report described 26 homosexual men in New York and California with Kaposi's sarcoma, and 10 more Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) cases in homosexual men in California.

The first paper on HIV/AIDS, reporting on June 5, 1981 on five cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) seen at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) medical center. PCP was then a rare infection; however, the lead author of the paper, Michael Gottlieb, had seen five cases of this infection since January 1981, all in previously healthy young homosexual men, indicating that their immune system was not working. (Thanks to Juan Weiss for this reference.)

Also published with same title in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 38 (1989) 831, 832-837. Discovery of the "Ebola Reston" strain of the Ebola virus. The strain is lethal in monkeys; it turned out to be non-pathogenic for humans.

Digital text from cdc.gov at this link.

(Thanks to Juan Weiss for this paper and its interpretation.)

Appendix two is a reprint of "History and organization of the Vital Statistics System" by A. M. Hetzel, that first appeared in Vital Statistics of the United States I (1950) 1-19. Digital facsimile from cdc.gov at this link.

On October 1, 1999 the CDC reported a cluster of human encephalitis cases; prior to these cases many crows had been dying. The "sentinel event" in this outbreak was the report to the New York Health Dept. by Dr. D. Asnis of two back to back human encephalitus cases. At this time the CDC was unwilling to make a definite attribution of the cases of viral encephalitis to West Nile virus.

Digital facsimile from the CDC at this link.

(Thanks to Juan Weiss for this reference and its interpretation.)

First description of the scope of the outbreak dated March 21, 2003,  preliminary case definition, and interim infection control guidance for the United States. Available from the CDC at this link.

One week later the CDC published "Update: Outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome - worldwide," MMWR, 52, 241-248.

Dated March 28, 2003, this detailed meticulous patient contact tracing on the ground and identified "patient zero" while preserving his/her anonymity. Available from the CDC at this link.

(Thanks to Juan Weiss for this entry and its interpretation.)

Reports on the first two patients affected by a "new" coronavirus. The first patient, hospitalized in June 2012, died, and the other was in both pulmonary and renal failure. In this paper the CDC referenced a website posting by the WHO, offering "interim case definitions" and criteria for "probable case" and "confirmed case." This paper is available from the CDC at this link.

(Thanks to Juan Weiss for this reference and its interpretation.)

First report on Zika virus infections in the U.S., tracing the area of infection to a specific square mile, creating a buffer zone around the area, targeting it for spraying and mosquito collection, intervention, mass screening and testing. Nevertheless the disease became widespread. Digital facsimile from cdc.gov at this link.

(Thanks to Juan Weiss for this reference and its interpretation.)