These diseases - West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - are named for the places where outbreaks happened. But they're also all things you get from being bitten by mosquitoes or ticks.

Research:
Balasubramanian, Chandana. “Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF): The Deadly Tick-borne Disease That Inspired a Hit Movie.” Gideon. 9/1/2022. https://www.gideononline.com/blogs/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever/
Barbour AG, Benach JL2019.Discovery of the Lyme Disease Agent. mBio10:10.1128/mbio.02166-19.https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02166-19
Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “History of Lyme Disease.” https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/history-lyme-disease/
Caccone, Adalgisa. “Ancient History of Lyme Disease in North America Revealed with Bacterial Genomes.” Yale School of Medicine. 8/28/2017. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/ancient-history-of-lyme-disease-in-north-america-revealed-with-bacterial-genomes/
Chowning, William M. “Studies in Pyroplasmosis Hominis.("Spotted Fever" or "Tick Fever" of the Rocky Mountains.).” The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 1/2/1904. https://archive.org/details/jstor-30071629/page/n29/mode/1up
Elbaum-Garfinkle, Shana. “Close to home: a history of Yale and Lyme disease.” The Yale journal of biology and medicine vol. 84,2 (2011): 103-8.
Farris, Debbie. “Lyme disease older than human race.” Oregon State University. 5/29/2014. https://science.oregonstate.edu/IMPACT/2014/05/lyme-disease-older-than-human-race
Galef, Julia. “Iceman Was a Medical Mess.” Science. 2/29/2012. https://www.science.org/content/article/iceman-was-medical-mess
Gould, Carolyn V. “Combating West Nile Virus Disease — Time to Revisit Vaccination.” New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 388, No. 18. 4/29/2023. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2301816
Harmon, Jim. “Harmon’s Histories: Montana’s Early Tick Fever Research Drew Protests, Violence.” Missoula Current. 7/20/2020. https://missoulacurrent.com/ticks/
Hayes, Curtis G. “West Nile Virus: Uganda, 1937, to New York City, 1999.” From West Nile Virus: Detection, Surveillance, and Control. New York : New York Academy of Sciences. 2001. https://archive.org/details/westnilevirusdet0951unse/
Jannotta, Sepp. “Robert Cooley.” Montana State University. 10/12/2012. https://www.montana.edu/news/mountainsandminds/article.html?id=11471
Johnston, B L, and J M Conly. “West Nile virus - where did it come from and where might it go?.” The Canadian journal of infectious diseases = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses vol. 11,4 (2000): 175-8. doi:10.1155/2000/856598
Lloyd, Douglas S. “Circular Letter #12 -32.” 8/3/1976. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/departments-and-agencies/dph/dph/infectious_diseases/lyme/1976circularletterpdf.pdf
Mahajan, Vikram K. “Lyme Disease: An Overview.” Indian dermatology online journal vol. 14,5 594-604. 23 Feb. 2023, doi:10.4103/idoj.idoj_418_22
MedLine Plus. “West Nile virus infection.” https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007186.htm
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. “History of Rocky Mountain Labs (RML).” 8/16/2023. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/rocky-mountain-history
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. “Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.” https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever
Rensberger, Boyce. “A New Type of Arthritis Found in Lyme.” New York Times. 7/18/1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/18/archives/a-new-type-of-arthritis-found-in-lyme-new-form-of-arthritis-is.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock
Rucker, William Colby. “Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.” Washington: Government Printing Office. 1912. https://archive.org/details/101688739.nlm.nih.gov/page/
Sejvar, James J. “West Nile virus: an historical overview.” Ochsner journal vol. 5,3 (2003): 6-10. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3111838/
Smithburn, K.C. et al. “A Neurotropic Virus Isolated from the Blood of a Native of Uganda.” The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Volume s1-20: Issue 4. 1940.
Steere, Allen C et al. “The emergence of Lyme disease.” The Journal of clinical investigation vol. 113,8 (2004): 1093-101. doi:10.1172/JCI21681
Steere, Allen C. et al. “Historical Perspectives.” Zbl. Bakt. Hyg. A 263, 3-6 (1986 ). https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/281837/1-s2.0-S0176672486X80912/1-s2.0-S0176672486800931/main.pdf
World Health Organization. “West Nile Virus.” 10/3/2017. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/west-nile-virus
Xiao, Y., Beare, P.A., Best, S.M. et al. Genetic sequencing of a 1944 Rocky Mountain spotted fever vaccine. Sci Rep 13, 4687 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31894-0

These diseases - West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - are named for the places where outbreaks happened. But they're also all things you get from being bitten by mosquitoes or ticks.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Balasubramanian, Chandana. &ldquo;Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF): The Deadly Tick-borne Disease That Inspired a Hit Movie.&rdquo; Gideon. 9/1/2022. https://www.gideononline.com/blogs/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever/</li>
<li>Barbour AG, Benach JL2019.Discovery of the Lyme Disease Agent. mBio10:10.1128/mbio.02166-19.https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02166-19</li>
<li>Bay Area Lyme Foundation. &ldquo;History of Lyme Disease.&rdquo; https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/history-lyme-disease/</li>
<li>Caccone, Adalgisa. &ldquo;Ancient History of Lyme Disease in North America Revealed with Bacterial Genomes.&rdquo; Yale School of Medicine. 8/28/2017. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/ancient-history-of-lyme-disease-in-north-america-revealed-with-bacterial-genomes/</li>
<li>Chowning, William M. &ldquo;Studies in Pyroplasmosis Hominis.("Spotted Fever" or "Tick Fever" of the Rocky Mountains.).&rdquo; The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 1/2/1904. https://archive.org/details/jstor-30071629/page/n29/mode/1up</li>
<li>Elbaum-Garfinkle, Shana. &ldquo;Close to home: a history of Yale and Lyme disease.&rdquo; The Yale journal of biology and medicine vol. 84,2 (2011): 103-8.</li>
<li>Farris, Debbie. &ldquo;Lyme disease older than human race.&rdquo; Oregon State University. 5/29/2014. https://science.oregonstate.edu/IMPACT/2014/05/lyme-disease-older-than-human-race</li>
<li>Galef, Julia. &ldquo;Iceman Was a Medical Mess.&rdquo; Science. 2/29/2012. https://www.science.org/content/article/iceman-was-medical-mess</li>
<li>Gould, Carolyn V. &ldquo;Combating West Nile Virus Disease &mdash; Time to Revisit Vaccination.&rdquo; New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 388, No. 18. 4/29/2023. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2301816</li>
<li>Harmon, Jim. &ldquo;Harmon&rsquo;s Histories: Montana&rsquo;s Early Tick Fever Research Drew Protests, Violence.&rdquo; Missoula Current. 7/20/2020. https://missoulacurrent.com/ticks/</li>
<li>Hayes, Curtis G. &ldquo;West Nile Virus: Uganda, 1937, to New York City, 1999.&rdquo; From West Nile Virus: Detection, Surveillance, and Control. New York : New York Academy of Sciences. 2001. https://archive.org/details/westnilevirusdet0951unse/</li>
<li>Jannotta, Sepp. &ldquo;Robert Cooley.&rdquo; Montana State University. 10/12/2012. https://www.montana.edu/news/mountainsandminds/article.html?id=11471</li>
<li>Johnston, B L, and J M Conly. &ldquo;West Nile virus - where did it come from and where might it go?.&rdquo; The Canadian journal of infectious diseases = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses vol. 11,4 (2000): 175-8. doi:10.1155/2000/856598</li>
<li>Lloyd, Douglas S. &ldquo;Circular Letter #12 -32.&rdquo; 8/3/1976. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/departments-and-agencies/dph/dph/infectious_diseases/lyme/1976circularletterpdf.pdf</li>
<li>Mahajan, Vikram K. &ldquo;Lyme Disease: An Overview.&rdquo; Indian dermatology online journal vol. 14,5 594-604. 23 Feb. 2023, doi:10.4103/idoj.idoj_418_22</li>
<li>MedLine Plus. &ldquo;West Nile virus infection.&rdquo; https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007186.htm</li>
<li>National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. &ldquo;History of Rocky Mountain Labs (RML).&rdquo; 8/16/2023. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/rocky-mountain-history</li>
<li>National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. &ldquo;Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.&rdquo; https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever</li>
<li>Rensberger, Boyce. &ldquo;A New Type of Arthritis Found in Lyme.&rdquo; New York Times. 7/18/1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/18/archives/a-new-type-of-arthritis-found-in-lyme-new-form-of-arthritis-is.html?login=smartlock&amp;auth=login-smartlock</li>
<li>Rucker, William Colby. &ldquo;Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.&rdquo; Washington: Government Printing Office. 1912. https://archive.org/details/101688739.nlm.nih.gov/page/</li>
<li>Sejvar, James J. &ldquo;West Nile virus: an historical overview.&rdquo; Ochsner journal vol. 5,3 (2003): 6-10. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3111838/</li>
<li>Smithburn, K.C. et al. &ldquo;A Neurotropic Virus Isolated from the Blood of a Native of Uganda.&rdquo; The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Volume s1-20: Issue 4. 1940.</li>
<li>Steere, Allen C et al. &ldquo;The emergence of Lyme disease.&rdquo; The Journal of clinical investigation vol. 113,8 (2004): 1093-101. doi:10.1172/JCI21681</li>
<li>Steere, Allen C. et al. &ldquo;Historical Perspectives.&rdquo; Zbl. Bakt. Hyg. A 263, 3-6 (1986 ). https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/281837/1-s2.0-S0176672486X80912/1-s2.0-S0176672486800931/main.pdf</li>
<li>World Health Organization. &ldquo;West Nile Virus.&rdquo; 10/3/2017. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/west-nile-virus</li>
<li>Xiao, Y., Beare, P.A., Best, S.M. et al. Genetic sequencing of a 1944 Rocky Mountain spotted fever vaccine. Sci Rep 13, 4687 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31894-0</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

These diseases - West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - are named for the places where outbreaks happened. But they're also all things you get from being bitten by mosquitoes or ticks.

Three More Eponymous Diseases: Arthropod Bites

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4020db70-2ee1-44bb-a6bc-b366011def38/transcript