User:Alczdx/sandbox


 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * Everything is relatively relevant to the article. The section titled 'Transmission' only contained a generalization of this disease spreads, while the specific mapping of the disease outbreak in Los Angles was included in the section above it. The article might have flowed better if some of the mapping was moved down to the 'Transmission' section and build upon this.
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * This article, I think, does a good job of staying unbiased and presenting facts only.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Not so much viewpoints, but I feel that a couple important pieces of information relating directly to the topic were not discussed in the depth they should be. [such as?]
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * While the citations still work and can give good information; they are very broad sources. There is only one source that is directly dedicated to this outbreak.
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Citations are good. The information mainly comes from CDC documents and health documents, which are good neutral sources to find fats.
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * Most of the information appears to be up to date, mainly due to the recent date that this event occurred.
 * Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * There are currently no conversations or posts on the talk page
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * This article can relate directly to what we are going through today with the pandemic. [This asks about rating of the article, not sure what you're saying here K8shep (talk) 17:58, 25 September 2020 (UTC)]
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * N/A

1924 Los Angeles Pneumonic Plague Outbreak

1924 Los Angeles pneumonic plague outbreak


 * Why did I choose this article?
 * I chose this article because I thought the topic sounded interesting. The article did not have a lot of information, so I assumed it would be helpful to the Wikipedia community to add to it. I also think it's an important topic that more people should know about.
 * What's missing from the article? What do I want to add?
 * There is a lot of information missing from this article. One of the areas I want to expand on is the person-to-person transmission. Another area that the article article mentioned but did not expand upon was the rat eradication program that took place. I'm hoping to add a lot more information on this program.

Sources


 * 1) Batzaroff. “EXPERIMENTAL PNEUMONIC PLAGUE.” Public Health Reports (1896-1970), vol. 15, no. 9, 2 Mar. 1900, pp. 447–460. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/41453085?refreqid=search-gateway:4980a24cdb6c8a40d7bfbaa73cd2ef4a.
 * 2) Greninger, Alex. “The Definition and Measurement of Dangerous Research .” Center for International and Security Studies, U. Maryland, 2004, pp. 31–50. JSTOR.

What to add to our article

Racism in Los Angeles
 * A day to day timeline of the events that played out
 * A brief description of what Pneumonic plague is, or a hyperlink to the Wikipedia page already covering it
 * More information on the transmission of pneumonic plague
 * Hinckley Transmission Article/Cambridge Press
 * Many researchers and experts believe that the pneumonic plague is not as transmissible as people have often believed (Greninger Article). Based on data in the [Cambridge press article] only 11% of patients that contracted the disease actually spread it to another person


 * "By 1924, Mexicans outnumbered every ethnic group in labor camps across California, with the exception of whites" https://as205.omeka.net/exhibits/show/mexican_labor_city_angels/intro_essay/1920s_great_depression
 * "Mexicans arriving in Los Angeles found themselves subject to discrimination based on their race, disdain for their native culture, a lack of educational opportunities, and economic impoverishment that entrenched them in lower class roles" https://as205.omeka.net/exhibits/show/mexican_labor_city_angels/intro_essay/1920s_great_depression
 * "...overcrowding, bad ventilation, the proximity of a case to a patient, and the duration of exposure are the main risk factors for pneumonic plague." [Greninger]
 * I want to add in the fact that the doctor originally misdiagnosed the first patients (source from Marin)
 * Adding about the cover up in the book
 * Official government documents state that the plague was not diagnosed until October 30th. Following this given timeline, health and government officials took timely and appropriate action to handle this deadly plague. [Book source page 58]. (use this exact wording because I changed the wording while taking notes)
 * "State of Health Official Walter Dickie published a pamphlet in 1926 called Plague in California, 1900-1925. In it he writes that the first Los Angeles case was a "Male Mexican, age 55 years (who) was taken ill October 1st." [book source page 58]
 * Dickie had written that a guinea pig was tested on October 31st using the puss from the bubo taken from Jesus Lajun and saved. This guinea pig died from the plague after being tested with this puss. Later in June 1925, Dickie wrote that "the bubo was still discharging a small amount of puss" implying that Lajun was still alive when the bubo was removed and tested. [book page 59] The physician who incubated the guinea pig would have known the Lajun was infected with pneumonic plague 17 days before the quarantine was put in effect. [book source page 59].
 * https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/968200.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A274b60601b496273b26292c24c4a0ec3
 * good article for racism relating to govt
 * More to add to the response section
 * William's effort is expediance itself: He hires 200 unemployed veterans of the Great War and provides them with shotguns from the police arsenal. Ultimatley, 400 armed men will patrol the expanding perimeters - and each will earn five dollars a day. The average daily wage of a skilled male living in Macy Street is $4.31 a day. [book source page 82].
 * Possible new source : https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-05-me-then5-story.html

Racism in Los Angeles Relating to the Response to the Outbreak
Dr. Lien the-Wu, an expert in the transmissibility of the pneumonic plague, has warned that the conditions of a ghetto like living space, such as overcrowding and poor ventilation, are prominent factors in the spread and harshness of the disease. [greninger source]. The year of the pneumonic plague outbreak, Mexicans made up the largest ethnic group living in the conditions of work camps and ghettos. [website source]. Racism against Mexicans in the government also played a part in the discrimination of Mexican immigrants and workers. [website source].

Not only was the Mexican population living in close and poor quarters, they were discriminated against in all aspects of their culture and work. [website source]. Although the Mexican population in Los Angeles worked a number of skilled and unskilled jobs, they were seen as only being able to work in the factories and the agricultural fields surrounding Los Angels. [oxford press source 435-445]. Mexicans at the time were seen as cheap and expendable [oxford press 435-445]. For a Mexican woman to be seen as acceptable in the Los Angeles society, she would have to be trained in proper housekeeping and become a neat 'house servant'. [oxford press 450]. According to an article published on the Western Historical Quarterly, a Mexican man was not seen as socially prominent unless they had converted from Catholicism to Protestantism [oxford press 451-452]. Possibly due to the racist feelings against Mexican people at this time, the doctor originally misdiagnosed the Index patient, Jesus Lajun. [Book source page 13]. According to official government documents, the disease was not labelled as the pneumonic plague until October 30th. [Book source page 58]. Based on evidence found and research conducted, the government had known it was the pneumonic plague well before the late October timeline that was presented to the public. [Book source page 58]. Walter Dickie, a State Health Official, published a pamphlet in mid 1926 stating that a male Mexican had contracted the pneumonic plague on October 1st. [Book source page 58]. Dickie stated that this was the first case of the pneumonic plague in Los Angeles. [book source page 58]. In his publication, Dickie described an experiment he had done using a guinea pig and and a lymph node sample taken from Jesus Lajun before he passed away. [Book source page 59]. Dickie found that the guinea pig died from pneumonic plague. [Book source page 59]. This experiment was conducted 17 days before the quarantine announcement was made by the Los Angeles government. [book source page 59].

When the plague was finally diagnosed and a quarantine was put in place, 200 World War 1 veterans were hired to enforce the quarantine. [book source page 82]. They were provided with shotguns and were paid $5 a day. In the end, a total of 400 armed men were put in place to patrol the borders of the Macy Street area. [book source page 82]. Many residents felt they were being held against their will and did not trust the police also patrolling the area. [la times article] The quarantined areas were deemed a 'menace' by the public, which contributed to the disease being dubbed a Mexican disease and problem. [la times source].