Drama and Discovery

Histoplasmosis is a fungal disease that is widely endemic in much of the world. In the central United States, including the broad reaches of the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, the majority of adults are infected with the causative fungus. Most infected individuals handle this infection well, but a few do become sick. Over the years there have been a number of outbreaks or epidemics with many persons becoming severely ill and some dying as a result. This is the story of the discovery of histoplasmosis in 1905 and the subsequent development of knowledge concerning its etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnostic challenges, clinical manifestations, and treatment. Uniquely qualified to tell this tale, Daniel and Baum base their study on original source material not previously available.

The story of histoplasmosis spans the twentieth century, from its discovery by Samuel Taylor Darling in Panama to the development of effective drug treatment near the century's end. The book epitomizes the growth of medical knowledge through the confluence of ideas and information arising from the work of many individual investigators, a recurrent theme in the history of medicine. Daniel and Baum include much original and previously unreported material derived from Baum's direct involvement with the unraveling of the pathogenesis of the disease and his personal knowledge of the people and events detailed in this book.

THOMAS M. DANIEL is Emeritus Professor of Medicine and International Health at Case Western Reserve University./e A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he spent all of his professional career at Case Western Reserve University and its affiliated University and Veteran's Administration Hospitals. Dr. Daniel practiced clinical pulmonary medicine and directed a research program investigating the immunology of granulomatous diseases, including histoplasmosis. He was named a Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine in 1967.

GERALD L. BAUM is Medical Director of the Israeli Lung Association in Tel Aviv./e He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1947. After training in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine in New York, Chicago, and Cincinnati, he began work in mycology with Dr. Jan Schwartz. He has remained interested in this area since that time. He served as Director of the Pulmonary Division of the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Cincinnati. Subsequently, he moved to Cleveland to assume the directorship of the Pulmonary Section of the Cleveland Veteran's Administration Hospital and to join the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He served as Director of the Pulmonary Disease Service, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and Professor of Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, until retirement in 1991.