A medical doctor, Snow preferred to be a general practitioner in Tapanui, New Zealand, a profession that he considered “exciting, diverse, challenging and wide-ranging.” Snow was “the classic country doctor, looking after the people of Tapanui for over 30 years,” said Dr. Jonathan Fox, president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.
Snow himself was once the president of the College, but he’s best known for noticing that livestock in his area seemed to suffer from an ailment, and people in the same area had similar symptoms. In 1984 he identified what became known as “Tapanui Flu” — which was later re-dubbed “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”.
Through significant research he determined the syndrome “clearly mimics that of chronic giardiasis, a disease then not recognized in New Zealand.” (Giardia is an intestinal parasite.) Follow-up treatments of the victims with anti-giardia medications provided recovery to nearly all of the long-suffering victims. Snow died March 2; his age was not reported, but he was born in 1935, so he was about 71.
Author’s Note: While Dr. Snow was apparently correct about the cause for most of his patients, the disease currently known Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Myalgic encephalomyelitis) is a wider-ranging and still fairly mysterious problem with multiple causes, not “just” parasitic infection. If you suffer from CFS, certainly look into giardiasis, but don’t assume a pill for that ill will necessarily cure all cases.