Why It Took Centuries For Chennai’s 1780 Fever Outbreak To Be Diagnosed As Dengue

In 1780, Madras faced an epidemic that would eventually become part of India's medical history. The illness was recorded as a fever, but the underlying disease remained uncertain.  Nearly two centuries later, researchers would connect the outbreak to dengue-like illness, offering a glimpse into a time when medicine could recognise a pattern of sickness without identifying its cause. The distinction matters because dengue was not yet understood as a viral disease. There were no laboratory tests t

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