Academic research
Epidemiology of Human Plague in the United States, 1900–2012
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Kiersten J. Kugeler et al.
Cross-File evidence ledger
Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the File’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
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Epidemics & public health · 6 March 1900–11 December 1902Open File evidence →
The First San Francisco Plague Epidemic and Chinatown Quarantine
San Francisco Chinatown, represented at Portsmouth Square · United States
Why editors use it herePeer-reviewed CDC history of the first documented local infection and the disease's spread through the western United States.
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Quick read
The first documented locally acquired human plague infection in the continental United States was identified in San Francisco's Chinatown in March 1900.
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Trigger and conditions
On 6 March 1900, the body of Wong Chut King was examined after his death at the Globe Hotel.
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Uncertainty
Historical sources differ in how they classify a small number of suspected cases and in their exact boundaries for the first epidemic.
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Why it matters
The epidemic cannot be understood as either a fabricated scare or a neutral medical response.
Reviewed 24 July 2026
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Quick read