Happy Fourth of July - The Infected US President

Nothing is more American than the Presidency. I have no idea why that is or if it's even true, but it sounds good. Over at The History of Vaccines blog, Alexandra Linn has a nice post describing the infectious diseases that have plagued the US Presidents and their families.

From the nine deadly diseases that plagued George Washington to FDR's polio, it's clear that infectious diseases don't always spare the connected and wealthy - a true democracy. Of course, nothing was sadder than Old Tippecanoe's (William Henry Harrison) death by pneumonia only one month after his inauguration speech. He was the first President to die in office.