Iatrogenic concerns of the twentieth century: post-vaccinal encephalitis and spongiform encephalopathy

Throughout the twentieth century, iatrogenic disease constituted an enduring problem in western medical discourse and practice. A survey of the medical literature, investigative reports, and archival material indicates that iatrogenic concerns persisted throughout the century. Two groups of case studies are presented: one associated with post-vaccinal encephalitis; the other, with the iatrogenically transmitted spongiform encephalopathies, scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Kuru, a similar disease investigated in New Guinea--but which is thought to be neither iatrogenically caused nor transmitted--is also discussed to speculate on whether an iatrogenic lens might be a valuable tool with which to re-view its mode of transmission.