In the 2007 article, published in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences, Lipsitch and coauthors Richard J. Hachett and Carter E. Mecher dug into public health data to look at death rates in 17 U.S. cities and to contemporary news accounts to see how the cities had responded. Among other public health measures, cities took such steps as isolating the ill; closing schools, houses of worship, theaters, and dance halls; and banning public funerals and crowding on streetcars.