Dorothy Millicent Horstmann, MD

Born: July 2, 1911
Died: January 11, 2001

Major Contribution:

Dr. Horstmann made medical history by showing that the poliovirus enters the bloodstream for a brief period of time before attacking the central nervous system. Her team detected the poliovirus in the blood of infected monkeys and chimpanzees before the signs of paralysis appeared. The virus was not found after paralysis, because antibodies had eliminated them. This was significant because it meant that an immunizing vaccine, with low levels of antibodies, could destroy the virus before it entered the nervous system. Her findings, published in 1952, paved the way for both the Salk killed-virus polio vaccine and the Sabin live-virus polio vaccine. Horstmann confirmed for the World Health Organization that the Sabin vaccine tried in Russia, Poland and Czechoslovakia was safe and effective.

Other Information:

Brief Biography: Dorothy Millicent Horstmann, renowned for her contributions to the pathogenesis and control of viral infections, particularly poliomyelitis and rubella, was born in Spokane, Washington, on July 2, 1911. After her undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley and medical training at the University of California, San Francisco in 1940. There were few women physicians at the time, and discrimination limited their opportunities. However she did clinical training at San Francisco County Hospital and Vanderbilt Hospital.

As a Commonwealth Fund Fellow at the Yale University School of Medicine, she began work with John Rodman Paul, the director of the Yale Poliomyelitis Study Unit. In 1944, she was appointed instructor in the Department of Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. She was named assistant professor in 1948, and in 1961, became the first woman appointed professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. With her promotion to the John Rodman Paul Professorship of Epidemiology and Public Health in 1969, she became the first woman to hold an endowed chair at Yale University. At her retirement in 1982, she became an emeritus professor and senior research analyst. She died on January 18, 2001.

Location of papers:
Yale University Library
Manuscripts and Archives
Sterling Memorial Library
128 Wall Street
PO Box 208240
New Haven, CT 06520
203-432-1735; 203-432-7441 fax
mssa.reference@yale.edu
On-line finding guide to the Dorothy Horstmann papers

Description of Papers: The Dorothy Horstmann Papers include correspondence, writings, research data, notes, memorabilia, and photographs, which document Dorothy Horstmann’s years at the Yale School of Medicine as a bio-medical researcher and teacher. The papers highlight her accomplishments in the epidemiology and conquest of poliomyelitis and rubella. “Breaking the back of polio,” by David Oshinsky, is an excellent historical account on Dr.Horstmann’s work. It was published in the Autumn 2005 Yale Medicine, publication of Yale School of Medicine.

Photos of Dr. Horstmann at work are included with the article.

Biography on Dorothy Horstmann is available from Faq Internet Archive.

Short video produced by Yale School of Medicine.

Major Articles: Dorothy Millicent Horstmann, MD

Articles found at HighWire Press® Stanford University. (*Asterisk denotes article is free of subscription fee.)

A Winter Outbreak Of Poliomyelitis in New York City: The Complement-Fixation Test As An Aid in Rapid Diagnosis. Joseph L. Melnick, James R. Mccarroll, and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Am. J. Epidemiol., Jan 1956; 63: 95 – 114

The Trial Use Of Sabin's Attenuated Type 1 Poliovirus Vaccine In A Village In Southern Arizona. Dorothy M. Horstmann, J. C. Niederman, J. T. Riordan, and J. R. Paul. Am. J. Epidemiol., Sep 1959; 70: 169 - 184.

A Survey Of Poliovirus Antibody Levels In New Haven, Connecticut, 1957–1958. James C. Niederman, Dorothy M. Horstmann, and Edward M. Opton. Am. J. Epidemiol., Sep 1960; 72: 218 - 230.

The Detection Of Poliovirus And Other Enteric Viruses In Flies: Results Of Tests Carried Out During An Oral Poliovirus Vaccine Trial. John T. Riordan, J. R. Paul, I. Yoshioka, And D. M. Horstmann .Am. J. Epidemiol., Sep 1961; 74: 123 - 136.

Viremia In Infants Vaccinated With Oral Poliovirus Vaccine (Sabin). Dorothy M. Horstmann, Edward M. Opton, Ruth Klemperer, Belem Llado, And Alfred J. Vignec. Am. J. Epidemiol., Jan 1964; 79: 47 - 63.

Persistence Of Antibodies To Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Following Naturally Acquired Infections. Leandro Cordero, Charles Du V. Florey, and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Am. J. Epidemiol., Nov 1968; 88: 428 - 435.

Clinical Virology And Viral Surveillance In A Pediatric Group Practice: The Use Of Double-Seeded Tissue Culture Tubes For Primary Virus Isolation. David G. Miller, Mary O. Gabrielson, and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Am. J. Epidemiol., Sep 1968; 88: 245 - 256.

Enterovirus Surveillance Following A Communitywide Oral Poliovirus Vaccination Program: A Seven-Year Study. D. M. Horstmann, J. Emmons, L. Gimpel, T. Subrahmanyan, and J. T. Riordan. Am. J. Epidemiol., Mar 1973; 97: 173 - 186.

Live attenuated rubella virus vaccines in young adult women. Trials of Cendehill and HPV-77 DE-5. E. B. Byrne, J. M. Ryan, M. F. Randolph, and D. M. Horstmann. Am J Dis Child, Aug 1969; 118: 234.

Epidemiology of rubella. Subclinical infection and occurrence of reinfection. D. M. Horstmann, T. G. Pajot, and H. Liebhaber. Am J Dis Child, Jul 1969; 118: 133.

Vaccination With Ra 27-3 Rubella Vaccine. Persistence Of Immunity And Resistance To Challenge After Two Years. H. Liebhaber, T. H. Ingalls, G. L. Le Bouvier, And D. M. Horstmann. Am J Dis Child, Feb 1972; 123: 133.

Analyses From A Tropical Epidemic Of Poliomyelitis Which Occurred In Florida And Cuba In 1946. John R. Paul, F. Ramirez Corria, And Dorothy M. Horstmann. Am J Trop Med Hyg, Jul 1949; S1-29: 543 - 554.

A Survey of Poliomyelitis Virus Antibodies in French Morocco. John R. Paul and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Am J Trop Med Hyg, May 1955; 4: 512 - 524.

Spread Of Poliomyelitis Infection In Nursery Schools. James R. Mccarroll, Joseph L. Melnick, and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Am J Public Health, Dec 1955; 45: 1541 - 1550.

Diagnostic Procedures For Viral And Rickettsial Infections. (4th Ed.)* Dorothy M. Horstmann Am J Public Health, May 1970; 60: 950 - 951.

Large-scale production of rubella precipitinogens and their use in the diagnostic laboratory.* R Cappel, A Schluederberg, and D M Horstmann. J. Clin. Microbiol., Feb 1975; 1:201 - 205.

Use of enzyme immunoassays and the latex agglutination test to measure the temporal appearance of immunoglobulin G and M antibodies after natural infection or immunization with rubella virus.* J M Meegan, B K Evans, and D M Horstmann. J. Clin. Microbiol., Sep 1983; 18: 745 - 748.

Comparison of the latex agglutination test with the hemagglutination inhibition test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and neutralization test for detection of antibodies to rubella virus.* J M Meegan, B K Evans, and D M Horstmann. J. Clin. Microbiol., Oct 1982; 16: 644 - 649.

Characterization Of A Human Acute Phase Protein Found In Association With Rubella Virus Infection.* Roger Cappel, Ann Schluederberg, Robert H. Gifford, and Dorothy M. Horstmann. J. Exp. Med., Mar 1974; 139: 497 - 511.

Letters To The Editor: New Cover Dorothy M. Horstmann Pediatrics, Jun 1970; 45: 1041. Discussion paper: the use of primates in experimental viral infections--rubella and the rubella syndrome. D. M. Horstmann. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., Jul 1969; 162: 594.

Meningoencephalitis associated with pneumonitis due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. M. J. Taylor, G. N. Burrow, B. Strauch, and D. M. Horstmann. JAMA, Mar 1967; 199: 813 First-Trimester Exposure To Rubella D. M. Horstmann JAMA Jun 1968; 204: 1153.

An Epidemic Of Aseptic Meningitis, Primarily Among Infants, Caused By Echovirus 11-Prime. David G. Miller, Mary O. Gabrielson, Kenneth J. Bart, Edward M. Opton, and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Pediatrics, Jan 1968; 41: 77 - 90.

Replication of rubella virus in a continuous line of African green monkey kidney cells. (Vero) H Liebhaber, JT Riordan, and DM Horstmann. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., Jun 1967; 125: 636.

Poliomyelitis and Other Antibody Patterns in Natives of Tahiti and Raiatea. Dorothy M. Horstmann, Lisbeth M. Kraft, Sarah Melnick, and Anne Mascola. J. Immunol., Sep 1955; 75: 249 - 258.

Russian Coxsackie A-7 Virus ("AB IV" Strain)—Neuropathogenicity and Comparison with Poliovirus. Dorothy M. Horstmann and Elias E. Manuelidis J. Immunol., Jul 1958; 81: 32 - 42.

Experiments with Teschen Disease (Virus Encephalomyelitis of Swine). Dorothy M. Horstmann, Johanna Wydra, and Brigitte Kluge. J. Immunol., Oct 1952; 69: 379 - 394.

The Susceptibility Of Infant Rhesus Monkeys To Poliomyelitis Virus Administered By Mouth: A Study Of The Distribution Of Virus In The Tissues Of Orally Infected Animals.* Dorothy M. Horstmann, Joseph L. Melnick, Robert Ward, And M. José Sá Fleitas. J. Exp. Med., Sep 1947; 86: 309 - 323.

Active Immunity To Poliomyelitis In Chimpanzees Following Subclinical Infection.* Joseph L. Melnick And Dorothy M. Horstmann. J. Exp. Med., Feb 1947; 85: 287 - 303.

Poliomyelitis In Chimpanzees: Studies In Homologous And Heterologous Immunity Following Inapparent Infection.* Dorothy M. Horstmann and Joseph L. Melnick. J. Exp. Med., Jun 1950; 91: 573 - 597.

Viremia In Human Poliomyelitis.* Dorothy M. Horstmann, Robert W. Mccollum, And Anne D. Mascola. J. Exp. Med., Mar 1954; 99: 355 - 369.

Infection Induced By Oral Administration Of Attenuated Poliovirus To Persons Possessing Homotypic Antibody.* Dorothy M. Horstmann, J. R. Paul, J. L. Melnick, and Joyce V. Deutsch. J. Exp. Med., Jul 1957; 106: 159 - 177.

Poliomyelitis Virus In Fly-Contaminated Food Collected At An Epidemic.* Robert Ward, Joseph L. Melnick, and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Science, May 1945; 101: 491 - 493.

Articles Found at ScienceDirect.com

Clinical, virologic, and serologic evidence of Epstein-Barr virus infection in association with childhood pneumonia. Warren A. Andiman, Paul McCarthy, Richard I. Markowitz, David Cormier and Dorothy M. Horstmann. The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 99, Issue 6, December 1981, Pages 880-886.

Problems in measles and rubella. Dorothy M. Horstmann. Disease-a-Month, Volume 24, Issue 6, March 1978, Pages 1-52.

Importance of disease surveillance. Dorothy M. Horstmann. Preventive Medicine, Volume 3, Issue 4, December 1974, Pages 436-442.

Primary atypical pneumonia: An epidemic caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Leandro Cordero, Raul Cuadrado, Caroline B. Hall and Dorothy M. Horstmann. The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 71, Issue 1, July 1967, Pages 1-12.

The use of proflavine-tagged virus to study the pathogenesis of poliomyelitis in monkeys. David G. Miller and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Virology, Volume 30, Issue 3, November 1966, Pages 319-327.

Clinical virology. Dorothy M. Horstmann The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 38, Issue 5, May 1965, Pages 738-750 Clinical aspects of acute poliomyelitis. Dorothy M. Horstmann. The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 6, Issue 5, May 1949, Pages 592-605.

Infectious hepatitis in childhood: A report of two institutional outbreaks and a comparison of the disease in adults and children. Dorothy M. Horstmann, Jr., W. Paul Havens and Joyce Deutsch. The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 30, Issue 4, April 1947, Pages 381-387.

Acute disseminated lupus erythematosus with seven-year recovery—Case report. Dorothy M. Horstmann. The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 27, Issue 3, September 1945, Pages 235-240.

Clinical aspects of acute poliomyelitis. Dorothy M. Horstmann. The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 6, Issue 5, May 1949, Pages 592-605.

Clinical virology. Dorothy M. Horstmann. The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 38, Issue 5, May 1965, Pages 738-750.

Problems in measles and rubella. Dorothy M. Horstmann. Disease-a-Month, Volume 24, Issue 6, March 1978, Pages 1-52.

Acute disseminated lupus erythematosus with seven-year recovery—Case report. Dorothy M. Horstmann. The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 27, Issue 3, September 1945, Pages 235-240.

Primary atypical pneumonia: An epidemic caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Leandro Cordero, Raul Cuadrado, Caroline B. Hall and Dorothy M. Horstmann .The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 71, Issue 1, July 1967, Pages 1-12.

Importance of disease surveillance. Dorothy M. Horstmann. Preventive Medicine, Volume 3, Issue 4, December 1974, Pages 436-442.

The use of proflavine-tagged virus to study the pathogenesis of poliomyelitis in monkeys. David G. Miller and Dorothy M. Horstmann. Virology, Volume 30, Issue 3, November 1966, Pages 319-327

Articles from WorldCat™

Dorothy M. Horstmann, M.D. John Z Bowers; Robert Wayne McCollum; National Medical Audiovisual Center.; Alpha Omega Alpha. Videorecording : VHS tape Archival Material Atlanta, GA: The Center ; [Washington: for sale by National Audiovisual Center], 1977. Located at the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894 United States.

Biographical memoirs. Vol. 47 National Academy of Sciences (U.S.); NetLibrary, Inc. Internet Resource Computer File. Washington, D.C.:National Academy Press, 1975. Located at 554 libraries.

Viral and rickettsial infections of man. Frank Lappin Horsfall; Thomas M Rivers; Igor Tamm. 1965.Philadelphia, Lippincott. Two editions located at 360 librairies.

Leaders in American medicine, Dorothy M. Horstmann, M.D. Dorothy Millicent Horstmann; National Medical Audiovisual Center. Videorecording Videocassette. Atlanta:GA: The Center; Washington : Distributed by National Audiovisual Center, 1979. Located at University of Oklahoma, Health Science Center Library Oklahoma City, OK 73190 United States; University of Arizona - Health Sciences Library Tucson, AZ 85724 United States.

Infections And Immunity - Poliomyelitis: Problems in Pathogenesis and Immunization. Dorothy M Horstmann. 2000. The Yale journal of biology and medicine. 73, no. 1, 143 Publisher: New Haven, Conn. Yale Journal of Biology and medicine, Inc. Database: ArticleFirst Located at 316 libraries.

John Rodman Paul : April 18, 1893-May 6, 1971. Dorothy M Horstmann, Paul B Beeson. [Washington, D.C. : National Academy of Sciences, 1975. Located at University of Missouri, Columbia Columbia, MO 65203 United States; University of Puget Sound Library Tacoma, WA 98416 United States; Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210 United States; Columbia University Libraries, New York; NY 10027, United States.

Scientific essays on infectious diseases in honor of Dorothy M. Horstmann, M.D. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 1982 May-Aug; 55(3-4): 161-389 Database: From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Located at 316 libraries.

What’s new in infectious diseases: prevention and immunization. FrancisJ. Sweeney. 1967. Philadelphia: Saunders. Located at 30 libraries.

International Symposium on Poliomyelitis Control: held at the Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C., March 14-17, 1983 Dorothy M Horstmann; Thomas C Quinn; Frederick C Robbins; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.) Language: English Type: Book Publisher: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, ©1984 Located at 16 libraries.

Simposio internacional sobre el control de la Poliomielitis : celebrado en la Organización Panamericana de la Salud, Washington, D.C., 14-17 de marzo de 1983. Dorothy M Horstmann; Thomas C Quinn; Frederick C Robbins; Pan American Health Organization. Language: Spanish Type: Book Publisher: Washington, D.C., E.U.A. : Organización Panamericana de la Salud, 1985 Located at University Of Texas At Austin, Austin, TX 78713 United States; Univ Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, Cd. Juarez, Chih., 32310 Mexico; Univ Veracruzana Biblioteca Central, Xalapa Veracruz, 91000 Mexico; CISTI, Ottawa, ON K1A 0S2 Canada; Inter-American Develop Bank, Washington, DC 20577 United States; Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 United States; London School of Economics, London, WC2A 2HD United Kingdom; Bireme-Biblioteca Reg de Medicina, Clementino, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Ministerio de Educacion, Siu, Buenos Aires, 1057 Argentina.

Controlling rubella : problems and perspectives. Dorothy M Horstmann Language: English Type: Book Publisher: [S.l. : s.n., 1975] Located at Gallaudet University Library, Washington, DC 20002 United States.

Report on a visit to the U.S.S.R., Poland and Czechoslovakia to view work on live poliovirus vaccine, August-October 1959. Dorothy M Horstmann Language: English Type: Book Publisher: New Haven, Conn.: Section of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, [1960] Located at 11 libraries.

Virology and epidemiology; contributions in honor of John Rodman Paul. Dorothy M Horstmann; John R Paul. Language: English Type: Book Publisher: Hamden, Conn., Archon Books [1962] Located at 12 libraries.

Maternal rubella and the rubella syndrome in infants: epidemiologic, clinical, and virologic observations. Dorothy M Horstmann Language: English Type: Book Publisher: [S.l. : s.n., 1965] Located at Gallaudet University Library, Washington, DC 20002 United States.

Dorthy [i.e. Dorothy] M. Horstman [i.e. Horstmann], M.D. Robert W McCollum; John Z Bowers; Alpha Omega Alpha.; National Medical Audiovisual Center. Language: English Type: Visual Material : Videorecording : Videocassette Publisher: Atlanta : The Center ; Washington : for sale by National Audiovisual, 1977. Located at UCLA Library, Los Angeles, CA 90024 United States; University of Miami, School of Medical, Miami, FL 33136.

Problems in measles and rubella. Horstmann, Dorothy M. Language: English Type: Sound Recording : Non-music : Cassette tape Publisher: Chicago : Year Book Medical Publishers, 1978. No libraries listed.

Papers, 1917-1964. Peter K Olitsky Language: English Type: Archival Material Located at the American Philosophical Society and Rockefeller Archive Center Essays in memory of Arthur J. Viseltear John D Thompson; Dorothy M Horstmann Language: English Type: Book Publisher: New Haven, CT : The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Inc., 1991 No libraries listed.

Essays in memory of Arthur J. Viseltear. John D Thompson; Dorothy M Horstmann Language: English Type: Book Publisher: New Haven, CT : The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Inc., 1991 No libraries listed.

References from Polio: An American Story by David M. Oshinsky, New York: Oxford University Press. 2005.

From Oshinsky, page 323: “Years later, . . ., Sabin put John Paul and Dorothy Horstmann at the top of his list of scientists who “advised me to continue and offered me their continued collaboration.”

Horstmann, D. M., “Poliomyeletic in the Blood of Orally Infected Monkeys and Chimpanzees,” Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biological Medicine, vol. 79, 1952.

Poliomyelitis: problems in pathogenesis and immunization. 1957. Yale J Biol Med. 2000 Jan-Dec;73(1-6):143-57. No abstract available. PMID: 11765933 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE].

Scientific essays on infectious diseases in honor of Dorothy M. Horstmann, M.D. Yale J Biol Med. 1982 May-Aug;55(3-4):161-389. No abstract available. PMID: 6758365 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Horstmann, Dorothy, “The Poliomyelitis Story: A Scientific Hegira,” Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 1985, 79–90.

Dorothy Horstmann, “The Sabin Live Poliovirus Vaccination Trials in the USSR, 1959,” Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 1991, 501–2.

Suggested key words for additional publication searches: viral infections, polio, rubella, John Rodman Paul, vaccine.