Charles Pomerantz
Encyclopedia
Charles Pomerantz was a pest control expert and self-trained entomologist
who played a pivotal role in identifying the etiology
of a 1946 outbreak in New York City of what was later named rickettsialpox
. In subsequent years, he spoke before audiences at colleges and other public forums about the menace from pests.
Pomerantz was born in Poland
and came to the United States
as a child. He grew up on Manhattan
's Lower East Side
, where he attended P.S. 20. He had originally started in a business manufacturing ladies coats, but switched to pest control as a means of performing a greater service to the community.
After visiting an apartment complex in Queens
where a series of people had become sick with unusual rashes, Pomerantz inspected the site and discovered the mites near the building's incinerator rooms and reported his findings to health officials. Visiting the stricken Kew Gardens, Queens
complex with physician Robert Huebner
, the two peeled back wallpaper to find the walls swarming with mites, so much so that tenants had described that "the walls had movement". Huebner's investigations on the site led to the conclusion that tenants had been bitten by a mite
identified as Allodermanyssus sanguineus, found on mice that infested the storerooms and incinerator areas in the buildings. Pomerantz was credited with identifying this as a zoonotic disease
spread through mice and the mites that infested them. After culturing and isolating the organism in laboratory mice, the pathogen they named Rickettsia akari
was identified as the ultimate cause of the disease now called rickettsialpox
. The Department of Health announced a program to work with building owners to exterminate the mice that were the vector for the disease. Over 500 cases of the disease were diagnosed in New York City from 1947 to 1951.
Pomerantz spoke about the importance of rodent control in densely-populated areas in a March 1949 lecture to students and faculty members of the Harvard School of Public Health
. Pomerantz noted that many mite-born illnesses may be misidentified as chickenpox
, hives or scabies
, and that physicians and entomologists needed to be prepared for the symptoms of these illnesses spread by mites.
In 1949, Dr. Edward W. Baker of the United States Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine honored Pomerantz with the naming of a mite discovered in peach orchards in the Southern United States, calling it Pomerantzia charlesi in recognition of Pomerantz's work. A species of flea discovered in the Philippines
was named for him in 1951 as Stivalius pomerantzi. Over the course of his career, he was also honored by having his name given to a crane fly
and a group of prostigmatic
mite
s.
A resident of Hallandale Beach, Florida
, Pomerantz died there at age 76 on June 1, 1973. He was survived by his wife, a daughter and a grandchild.
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
who played a pivotal role in identifying the etiology
Etiology
Etiology is the study of causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek , aitiologia, "giving a reason for" ....
of a 1946 outbreak in New York City of what was later named rickettsialpox
Rickettsialpox
Rickettsialpox is an illness caused by bacteria of the Rickettsia genus . Physician Robert Huebner and self-trained entomologist Charles Pomerantz played major roles in identifying the etiology of the disease after an outbreak in 1946 in a New York City apartment complex, documented in medical...
. In subsequent years, he spoke before audiences at colleges and other public forums about the menace from pests.
Pomerantz was born in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a child. He grew up on Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
, where he attended P.S. 20. He had originally started in a business manufacturing ladies coats, but switched to pest control as a means of performing a greater service to the community.
After visiting an apartment complex in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
where a series of people had become sick with unusual rashes, Pomerantz inspected the site and discovered the mites near the building's incinerator rooms and reported his findings to health officials. Visiting the stricken Kew Gardens, Queens
Kew Gardens, Queens
Kew Gardens is a triangular-shaped neighborhood in central Queens bounded to the north by the Jackie Robinson Parkway , to the east by Van Wyck Expressway and 131st Street, to the south by Hillside Avenue, and to the west by Park Lane, Abingdon Road and 118th Street...
complex with physician Robert Huebner
Robert Huebner
Robert Joseph Huebner , was an American physician and virologist whose research into viruses, their causes and treatment that led to his breakthrough insights into the connections between viruses and cancer, leading to new treatments, as well as his hypothesized oncogene, which was discovered to be...
, the two peeled back wallpaper to find the walls swarming with mites, so much so that tenants had described that "the walls had movement". Huebner's investigations on the site led to the conclusion that tenants had been bitten by a mite
Mite
Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...
identified as Allodermanyssus sanguineus, found on mice that infested the storerooms and incinerator areas in the buildings. Pomerantz was credited with identifying this as a zoonotic disease
Zoonosis
A zoonosis or zoonoseis any infectious disease that can be transmitted from non-human animals to humans or from humans to non-human animals . In a study of 1415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% were zoonotic...
spread through mice and the mites that infested them. After culturing and isolating the organism in laboratory mice, the pathogen they named Rickettsia akari
Rickettsia akari
Rickettsia akari is a species of Rickettsia which causes rickettsialpox.After a 1946 outbreak of a rickettsial-type disease at an apartment complex in Kew Gardens, Queens, an investigation was performed to identify the source of the infections...
was identified as the ultimate cause of the disease now called rickettsialpox
Rickettsialpox
Rickettsialpox is an illness caused by bacteria of the Rickettsia genus . Physician Robert Huebner and self-trained entomologist Charles Pomerantz played major roles in identifying the etiology of the disease after an outbreak in 1946 in a New York City apartment complex, documented in medical...
. The Department of Health announced a program to work with building owners to exterminate the mice that were the vector for the disease. Over 500 cases of the disease were diagnosed in New York City from 1947 to 1951.
Pomerantz spoke about the importance of rodent control in densely-populated areas in a March 1949 lecture to students and faculty members of the Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
. Pomerantz noted that many mite-born illnesses may be misidentified as chickenpox
Chickenpox
Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...
, hives or scabies
Scabies
Scabies , known colloquially as the seven-year itch, is a contagious skin infection that occurs among humans and other animals. It is caused by a tiny and usually not directly visible parasite, the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, which burrows under the host's skin, causing intense allergic itching...
, and that physicians and entomologists needed to be prepared for the symptoms of these illnesses spread by mites.
In 1949, Dr. Edward W. Baker of the United States Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine honored Pomerantz with the naming of a mite discovered in peach orchards in the Southern United States, calling it Pomerantzia charlesi in recognition of Pomerantz's work. A species of flea discovered in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
was named for him in 1951 as Stivalius pomerantzi. Over the course of his career, he was also honored by having his name given to a crane fly
Crane fly
A crane fly is an insect in the family Tipulidae. Adults are very slender, long-legged flies that may vary in length from though tropical species may exceed to ....
and a group of prostigmatic
Prostigmata
The Prostigmata is a suborder of mites belonging to the Trombidiformes, which contain the "sucking" members of the "true mites" ....
mite
Mite
Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...
s.
A resident of Hallandale Beach, Florida
Hallandale Beach, Florida
Hallandale Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, a worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,113...
, Pomerantz died there at age 76 on June 1, 1973. He was survived by his wife, a daughter and a grandchild.