# American borne epidemics **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 24, 2020, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161 "2020-03-24T09:28:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/1 "2020-03-24T09:28:45Z")
I am dealing with a racist C—- online who insists on calling this the “Chinese” virus. I’m certain there have been diseases sourced from our shores can you name some? Off the top of my head I’m guessing: Legionnaires disease syphilis (not 100% proven from the Indians to the Europeans) What else? Help me put this racist bitch in her place! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/2 "2020-03-24T11:31:48Z")
You know that social distancing is also highly recommended to avoid people with that particular disease (racism) too, right? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/3 "2020-03-24T11:35:42Z")
How about the “Spanish” flu of 1918? It most likely originated at Ft Riley, Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/4 "2020-03-24T12:14:47Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > How about the “Spanish” flu of 1918? It most likely originated at Ft Riley, Kansas. That’s highly questionable, though. There were similar outbreaks at military outbreaks in England and France in the same time period, and some sort of similar viral syndrome documented in China a few months before those outbreaks. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/5 "2020-03-24T12:15:50Z")
We’ve done are best to bring back an oldie, but goodie, measles. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/6 "2020-03-24T12:33:21Z")
> [@campp](#): > > We’ve done are best to bring back an oldie, but goodie, measles. Sadly true. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/7 "2020-03-24T12:44:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > That’s highly questionable, though. There were similar outbreaks at military outbreaks in England and France in the same time period, and some sort of similar viral syndrome documented in China a few months before those outbreaks. more info in this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=892371](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=892371) ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/8 "2020-03-24T21:16:23Z")
Lyme Disease-----named after Lyme Connecticut Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Pacific Coast Tick Fever, San Joaquin Valley Fever. \* Sin Nombre orthohantavirus\*, _New York orthohantavirus_, \*Bayou orthohantavirus \*all causing Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/9 "2020-03-24T22:55:02Z")
I browsed the [CDC Diseases & Conditions A-Z Index](https://www.cdc.gov/diseasesconditions/az/a.html) and likely missed a few US names (beside those already mentioned). American Trypanosomiasis Colorado Tick Fever Jamestown Canyon (Colorado) Virus La Crosse (Wisconsin) Encephalitis Lou Gehrig’s Disease Norwalk (Ohio) Virus Pontiac (Michigan) Fever Tularemia (California) Yankee Fever (ha!) Except for the last one, these don’t seem to provoke regional or personal hatred. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/10 "2020-03-24T23:12:14Z")
And how many of those have provoked racial attacks? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/11 "2020-03-24T23:12:18Z")
Lou Gehrig’s disease did not originate with Gehrig, you know. He just happened to be a well-known person who got it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-borne-epidemics/850161/12 "2020-03-24T23:27:09Z")
I think that by the time this is over, America will be closely associated with this virus.