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Published On November 20, 2020
MILESTONE
200 Years of Preparation
Since its founding in 1811, MGH has both faced pandemics and learned from them.
1833 Isolation Wards
One of the greatest global outbreaks of cholera starts in 1831, and by 1833 it has spread to Quebec, Nova Scotia and New York. MGH doctors propose special wards to isolate patients with this and other contagious diseases. By 1849, construction begins on a standalone building—“The Brick.”
1851 Vaccination of the Vulnerable
Boston sees an outbreak of smallpox. A vaccine has been available for more than 50 years, but despite compulsory vaccination in Massachusetts, many haven’t received it. The trustees of the hospital vote that year that whenever a case occurs in the hospital, all patients should receive a fresh vaccination.
1918 A Disease Census
Accurate numbers of Spanish flu victims are critical for planning, especially on the war front in Europe. At Base Hospital No. 6, a hospital run by MGH in France, the staff epidemiologist takes a survey of troops in the area and produces daily reports on the presence of disease. This innovation gives commanders critical information that helps blunt outbreaks.
1961 The Respiratory Intensive Care Unit
During the polio outbreak of 1952 to 1955, MGH takes the unprecedented step of devoting an entire floor—the ninth floor of the White Building—to the disease. One of its hallmarks is the weakening of chest muscles, and many patients require an iron lung to breathe. Soon after, MGH creates the first unit dedicated to respiratory intensive care in the United States.
2015 Prepared for the Worst
The 2014 Ebola outbreak sees more than 11,000 deaths in Africa and a few cases make it to the United States. This highly infectious, deadly pathogen calls for a national response. MGH is designated one of only 10 regional emerging and special pathogens treatment centers in the United States, which entails a trained staff and a network of transmission protections.
Dispatches

One Thing Leads to the Next Robert Lefkowitz is best known for revealing the mechanism behind hundreds of drugs in use today. But he thinks of himself as a storyteller first and has a new book out to make his case.

Podcast: The Research Year That Was Medical research labs have faced a difficult stretch of closed buildings and competing priorities. Yet they have also produced milestone discoveries—and not only on COVID-19.

The Shape of Us Two milestone discoveries in protein modeling promise to change the fundamentals of drug discovery.

Universal Flu Vaccines Move Forward In the shadow of coronavirus vaccine development, another vaccine was making solid progress.

New Hope for Controlling HIV By studying elite controllers—people who are able to arrest the progress of HIV without medication—researchers have found a promising new path.

Progress on a Different Plague A novel use of bacteria could blunt the spread of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.

A Better Cholera Vaccine? Puzzling through the cholera antibody response may help slow a disease that affects millions of people every year.

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