Peter Grahame Snow (11 November 1934 – 28 February 2006) was a New Zealand

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

. He served the rural community of

Tapanui Tapanui is a small town in West Otago in New Zealand's South Island, close to the boundary with Southland, New Zealand, Southland region. It is a forestry town at the foot of the Blue Mountains, New Zealand, Blue Mountains and the Pomahaka Rive ...

for over 30 years. He was president of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs from 1998–99 and received their highest honour, Distinguished Fellowship, in 2001. He was a member of the Otago Hospital Board and its successor, the Otago District Health Board. He was the first doctor to report what turned out to be

myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

(ME/CFS) in New Zealand.

Education

As a boy, Snow attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

, graduating with the class of 1948. While training in medicine he expressed an interest in general practice, so when a position became available he took up general practice in Tapanui.

Practice

In 1984 he was presented with a number of patients with a prolonged exertional 'flu-like illness, but presenting no diagnosable condition. While some people thought they were no different from commonly found "tired all the time" cases, Dr Snow was convinced that they were indeed sick and proceeded to investigate. Many were sheep farmers who previously had a perfect record of health. Observing a similarity between the symptoms of stock suffering from selenium deficiency and these patients, he was the first doctor in New Zealand to identify the disease which turned out to be an outbreak of

. Owing to, often disparaging, publicity surrounding these discoveries and a study into them by Snow, Marion Poore, and Charlotte Paul, the illness came to be known in New Zealand as " Tapanui flu" after the town of the same name in West Otago. Snow also became concerned at the number of farmers injured in farm accidents, particularly those involving motorcycles, and made recommendations for improving farm safety. He campaigned unsuccessfully to prevent the closure of the Tapanui hospital, at which he was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Retirement, death and legacy

After more than 30 years in Tapanui, Snow and his wife retired to

Lake Hayes Lake Hayes () is a small lake in the Wakatipu Basin in Central Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located close to the towns of Arrowtown and Queenstown. The southern end of the lake is close to , while the western side is bordered ...

. Peter Snow died on 28 February 2006. A memorial to Snow, comprising a

Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth ...

and plaque, was unveiled in the main street of Tapanui on 8 August 2009. The Moon rock was chosen because of Snow's belief that a meteor had collided with the Moon in 1766 and dispersed debris across West Otago. Since 2007 Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network has conferred the annual Peter Snow Memorial Award to commemorate Snow's contributions to rural health. The award recognises an "outstanding contribution to rural health in either service, health research or innovation". Notable winners include Pat Farry, Tim Malloy, Graeme Fenton, Garry Nixon, and Professor

Jean Ross Jean Iris Ross Cockburn (; 7 May 1911 – 27 April 1973) was a British people, British journalist, political activist, and Film criticism, film critic. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), she was a war correspondent for the ''Daily Expres ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Peter 1934 births 2006 deaths People educated at Auckland Grammar School New Zealand general practitioners Otago District Health Board members