Adventures of a female medical detective : in pursuit of smallpox and AIDS

"In 1974, a young doctor arrived at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with one goal in mind: to help eradicate smallpox. The only woman physician in her class in the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a two-year epidemiology training program, Mary Guinan soon was selected to join India's Smallpox Eradication Program, which searched out and isolated patients with the disease. By May of 1975, the World Health Organization declared Uttar Pradash smallpox-free. During her barrier-crossing career, Dr. Guinan met arms-seeking Afghan insurgents in Pakistan and got caught in the cross fire between religious groups in Lebanon. She treated some of the first AIDS patients and served as an expert witness in defense of a pharmacist who was denied employment for having HIV--leading to 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. 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 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 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"-- Provided by publisher "Mary Guinan broke through many gender barriers to have an exciting and successful career in public health. After completing medical school at Johns Hopkins (she was one of ten women in a class of 110), she spent five months in India working on smallpox, before becoming an STD expert and an instrumental part of the team that uncovered the AIDS epidemic. (She was even featured in the book and movie And the Band Played On.) Dr. Guinan was the first woman to serve as chief scientific advisor for the CDC. Her career over the next several years at the CDC involved AIDS research and education and culminated in her becoming Nevada's first chief public health officer and the founding Dean of the UNLV School of Public Health. In Adventures of a Female Medical Detective, Guinan writes twelve stories about her career at the CDC as a medical detective, providing the unique perspective of being a woman at a time when very few women worked in this field. Throughout the book, Guinan investigates fascinating diseases including smallpox, AIDS, STDs, and listeria. Her adventures in medical forensics are told within the context of the larger public health concerns of the time. She focuses on methods used to find solutions to problems. This first-hand account is written with the general reader in mind; the stories are short, engaging, and informative. The manuscript reviewer, Dr. Joel Breman, describes Mary's work as a collection of "poignant and often hilarious tales ... from a front-line, public health heroine." In addition to its target market of general readers and public health practitioners, this book will be an enthralling addition to undergraduate public health and early MPH courses"-- Provided by publisher

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.

"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.