35.1 Infectious Disease
35.2 Defenses Against Infection
35.3 Fighting Infectious Disease
35.4 Immune System Disorders
THE SEARCH FOR A CAUSE
In 1975, researcher Allen Steere faced a medical mystery. Thirty-nine children and several adults living in one small area of Connecticut were suffering from joint pain and inflammation. At first glance, the children's symptoms looked like a rare form of childhood arthritis. And the adults' symptoms seemed to indicate age-related arthritis. But Steere thought it unlikely that there would be so many cases of childhood and age-related arthritis in a small population, in such a short period of time.
Steere looked for another explanation. The patients all lived in small towns and rural areas. Their symptoms all started at more or less the same time of year. Could these patients be suffering from a previously unreported infectious disease?
Never Stop Exploring Your World.
Finding the solution to this medical mystery is only the beginning. Take a video field trip with the ecogeeks of Untamed Science to see where this mystery leads.