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This month in history
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In November 1863, Edinburgh-based veterinary professor John Gamgee wrote to the London Times, sharing his concerns about the cattle disease Rinderpest. Rinderpest had secured a foothold in continental Europe and Asia, and Dr. Gamgee argued it was only a matter of time before the disease entered Great Britain. Indeed, two years later, on 29 May 1865, the SS Tonning from the Baltic port of Revel (in modern-day Estonia) arrived into harbor at Hull, England. A consignment of asymptomatic but Rinderpest-infected cattle were unloaded, initiating an outbreak across the country. |