Adventures of a Female Medical Detective: In Pursuit of Smallpox and AIDS

by Mary Guinan, Anne D. Mather (Editor)

Overview

"A rip-roaring read."--Nature

Fresh out of college in the 1960s, Mary Guinan aspired to be an astronaut--until she learned that NASA's astronaut program wasn't recruiting women. Instead, Guinan went to medical school and became a disease detective with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Epidemic Intelligence Service. Selected to join India's Smallpox Eradication program, Guinan traveled to remote villages to isolate smallpox cases and then vaccinate all uninfected persons within a ten-mile radius. By May 1975, the World Health Organization declared Uttar Pradesh smallpox-free.

During her barrier-breaking career, Dr. Guinan met arms-seeking Afghan insurgents in Pakistan and got caught in the crossfire between religious groups in Lebanon. She was one of the first medical detectives on the ground in San Francisco at the start of the AIDS crisis. And she served as an expert witness in a landmark decision that still protects HIV patients from workplace discrimination. Randy Shilts's best-selling book on the epidemic, And the Band Played On, features her AIDS work, as does the HBO movie of the same name.

In Adventures of a Female Medical Detective, Guinan weaves together twelve vivid stories of her life in medicine, describing her individual experiences in controlling outbreaks, researching new diseases, and caring for patients the world over. Occasionally heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious, Guinan's account of her pathbreaking career will inspire public health students and future medical detectives--and give all readers insight into that part of the government exclusively devoted to protecting their health.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421439815
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	08/03/2021
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.39(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mary Guinan, PhD, MD, was the founding dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is now founding dean emerita. She was the first woman to serve as the chief scientific advisor to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anne D. Mather was the managing editor of the CDC newsletter, the MMWR, during the years when smallpox was eradicated and AIDS was discovered.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 My First Outbreak Investigation 3

2 Something to Believe In: Operation Smallpox Zero 13

3 A Gift of an Elephant 29

4 Dr. Herpes 35

5 Healthcare Workers and Enemy Information in a War Zone, Pakistan, 1980 45

6 An AIDS Needlestick at a Rundown Hotel in San Francisco, 1982 53

7 ACT UP Acts Up at CDC over the Definition of AIDS for Women 63

8 The HIV-Infected Preacher's Wife 71

9 Few Safe Places 75

10 Expert Witness for John Doe, the Pharmacist, 1991 79

11 The Milk Industry Challenges CDC over the Source of a Listeriosis Outbreak 93

12 On Getting AIDS from a Toilet Seat and Other STD Myths and Taboos 101

References 115

Index 119

Illustrations follow page 62.

What People are Saying About This

Joel G. Breman

In this valuable memoir, frontline public health heroine Mary Guinan shares poignant and often hilarious tales, many privy to her only as a woman with an open mind and heart. Informative, insightful, and compassionate, the stories from this inquisitive, gloriously successful disease cowgirl are a delight to read.

David Holtgrave

If you want to hear what a real-life public health hero is truly like, pick up the story of Dr. Mary Guinan, who has simultaneously overcome gender-based discrimination and literally improved the health of millions.

Don Francis

From the back of an elephant tracking smallpox to the bedside of a dying patient tracking AIDS, Mary Guinan shows the detective work required to understand and control infectious diseases around the world. Sometimes funny, often scary, these stories inform, educate, and leave us appreciative of the people on the front lines protecting the public's health.

Nicholas Freudenberg

Imagine Sherlock Holmes tracking diseases instead of criminals. Dr. Mary Guinan's sharp and humorous account of the frontlines of many of the key public health mysteries of the last few decades is that and more as she confronts the scientific, moral, and political challenges of keeping the nation healthy.

From the Publisher

Adventures of a Female Medical Detective is a must read.  Bold, informative, and heartfelt, it recounts important events from the career of Mary Guinan and the mission of the CDC.  Her adventurous works demonstrate curiosity and compassion, and her courageous dedication to scientific integrity and action reflects the best in public health.
—James W. Curran, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

If you want to hear what a real-life public health hero is truly like, pick up the story of Dr. Mary Guinan, who has simultaneously overcome gender-based discrimination and literally improved the health of millions.
—David Holtgrave, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Imagine Sherlock Holmes tracking diseases instead of criminals. Dr. Mary Guinan's sharp and humorous account of the frontlines of many of the key public health mysteries of the last few decades is that and more as she confronts the scientific, moral, and political challenges of keeping the nation healthy.
—Nicholas Freudenberg, School of Public Health / Hunter College, City University of New York

From the back of an elephant tracking smallpox to the bedside of a dying patient tracking AIDS, Mary Guinan shows the detective work required to understand and control infectious diseases around the world. Sometimes funny, often scary, these stories inform, educate, and leave us appreciative of the people on the front lines protecting the public's health.
—Don Francis, MD, DSc

In this valuable memoir, frontline public health heroine Mary Guinan shares poignant and often hilarious tales, many privy to her only as a woman with an open mind and heart. Informative, insightful, and compassionate, the stories from this inquisitive, gloriously successful disease cowgirl are a delight to read.
—Joel G. Breman, MD, DTPH, FIDSA, FASTMH

James W. Curran

Adventures of a Female Medical Detective is a must read.  Bold, informative, and heartfelt, it recounts important events from the career of Mary Guinan and the mission of the CDC.  Her adventurous works demonstrate curiosity and compassion, and her courageous dedication to scientific integrity and action reflects the best in public health.

Editorial Reviews

A frank and illuminating look at how scientists--female scientists in particular--actually work to combat disease.
--The Washington Post

A punchy whodunnit.
--Times Higher Education

A rip-roaring read. As a 'medical detective, ' Guinan presents a series of case studies in explicit homage to super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes.
--Nature

Author Mary Guinan is a true pioneer, and the stories she tells of her early career are jaw-dropping. In every job-related battle she fought, Guinan's tenacity is impressive and empowering.
--Bookworm Sez

Light-hearted and easy to read. Guinan's stories embody the modesty and humor inherent in the culture of epidemiology as practiced by the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
--Emerging Infectious Diseases

From the Publisher

A rip-roaring read. As a 'medical detective,' Guinan presents a series of case studies in explicit homage to super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes.

Nature Lib

A frank and illuminating look at how scientists—female scientists in particular—actually work to combat disease.

The Washington Post

Light-hearted and easy to read. Guinan's stories embody the modesty and humor inherent in the culture of epidemiology as practiced by the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Emerging Infectious Diseases

"A rip-roaring read. As a 'medical detective,' Guinan presents a series of case studies in explicit homage to super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes."

Nature

Author Mary Guinan is a true pioneer, and the stories she tells of her early career are jaw-dropping. In every job-related battle she fought, Guinan's tenacity is impressive and empowering.

Bookworm Sez

A punchy whodunnit.

Times Higher Education

"Light-hearted and easy to read...Guinan's stories embody the modesty and humor inherent in the culture of epidemiology as practiced by the Epidemiologic Intelligence Service of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

"Guinan weaves together twelve vivid stories of her life in medicine, describing her individual experiences in controlling outbreaks, researching new diseases, and caring for patients with untreatable infections. She offers readers a feisty, engaging, and uniquely female perspective from a time when very few women worked in the field. Occasionally heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious, Guinan's account of her path breaking career will inspire public health students and future medical detectives—and give all readers insight into that part of the government exclusively devoted to protecting their health."

American Medical Women's Association Journal

"Light-hearted and easy to read...Guinan's stories embody the modesty and humor inherent in the culture of epidemiology as practiced by the Epidemiologic Intelligence Service (EIS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention