Plus ça change ... from rinderpest to bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Cattle plague (rinderpest) caused serious loss of cattle in Europe up to the beginning of the 20th century. Effective control measures were developed in the 18th century by Lancisi in Italy and Vicq d'Azyr in France long before the viral nature of the disease was understood. Similar measures are used to control BSE, which unlike rinderpest, also infects man. Much can be learned from earlier work on such problems as failure to notify outbreaks, inadequate application or deliberate evasion of control measures, and the value of compensation. Still renowned as a comparative anatomist, Vicq d'Azyr not only practised comparative medicine but as permanent secretary of the Societé Royale de Médecine in Paris (1776-1793) developed a national scheme for collecting public health data. His views on how doctors face an unknown disease and on the problems of administration could have been written today.