Yellow fever historical perspective

History
Yellow fever has had an important role in the history of Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean.

Europe 541-549
Fragile after the fall of Rome, Europe was further weakened by "Yellow Plague" (Yellow Fever). The Byzantine Empire suffered as well.

Havana, Cuba: 1762-1763
British and American colonial troops died by the thousands in Havana between 1762-1763. Epidemics struck coastal and island communities throughout the area during the next 140 years.

Philadelphia: 1793
In 1793, the largest yellow fever epidemic in American history killed as many as 5,000 people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—roughly 10% of the population. At the time, the port city was the largest in the United States, as well as the seat of U.S. government (prior to establishment of the District of Columbia). Philadelphia had recently seen the arrival of political refugees from the Caribbean. The summer that year was especially hot and dry, leaving many stagnant water areas as ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The yellow fever outbreak began in July and continued through November, when cold weather finally eliminated the breeding ground for mosquitoes, although the connection had not yet then been established. Thousands of Philadelphians, including prominent government officials like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton fled the national capital. Benjamin Rush, the city's leading physician and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, advocated the bloodletting of patients to combat the disease, but the treatment was controversial. Stephen Girard also helped supervise a hospital established at Bush Hill, a mansion just outside Philadelphia. Though many high-ranking people of Philadelphia fled, a few officials stayed. Mayor Matthew Clarkson as well as the mayor's committee tried to hold the city together as the death toll increased. Matthew Carey published a fast-selling chronicle of the yellow fever crisis, A short account of the Malignant Fever, Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia that went through four editions. Although other ethnic groups were included, Carey's account failed to include the involvement of the city's African Americans in the community's response and relief efforts, despite the fact that African American leaders Richard Allen and Absalom Jones had rallied their church community to assist victims. Allen and Jones subsequently wrote a pamphlet, Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, which detailed the contributions of the African Americans during the epidemic.

Haiti: 1802
In 1802, an army of forty thousand sent by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte of France to Haiti to suppress the Haitian Revolution was dwindled out by an epidemic of Yellow Fever (including the expedition's commander and Bonaparte's brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc). Some historians believe Haiti was to be a staging point for an invasion of the United States through Louisiana (then still under French control).

Norfolk, Virginia: 1855
A ship carrying persons infected with the virus arrived in Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia in June of 1855. The disease spread quickly through the community, eventually killing over 3,000 people, mostly residents of Norfolk and Portsmouth. The Howard Association, a benevolent organization, was formed to help coordinate assistance in the form of funds, supplies, and medical professionals and volunteers which poured in from many other areas, particularly the Atlantic and Gulf Coast areas of the United States. See also "The Mermaids and Yellow Jack. A NorFolktale." children's historical fiction written by Norfolk Author Lisa Suhay retelling of the event and founding of the Bon Secours DePaul Hospital system in the United States in response to the epidemic. (http://iparentingmediaawards.com/winners/13/20794-2-751.php)

Carlos Finlay and Walter Reed
Carlos Finlay, a Cuban doctor and scientist, first proposed proofs in 1881 that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct human contact. Dr.Walter Reed, M.D., (1851-1902) was an American Army surgeon who led a team that confirmed Finlay's theory. This risky but fruitful research work was done with human volunteers, including some of the medical personnel such as Clara Maass and Walter Reed Medal winner surgeon Jesse William Lazear who allowed themselves to be deliberately infected and died of the virus. The acceptance of Finlay's work was one of the most important and far-reaching effects of the Walter Reed Commission of 1900. Applying methods first suggested by Finlay, the elimination of Yellow Fever from Cuba was completed, as well as the completion of the Panama Canal. Lamentably, almost 20 years had passed before Reed's efforts were recognized while most of the scientific community ignored Finlay's methods of mosquito control. Finlay and Reed's work was put to the test for the first time in the United States when a yellow fever epidemic struck New Orleans in 1905; according to the PBS American Experience documentary The Great Fever, houses were fumigated, cisterns for drinking water were inspected, and pools of standing water were treated with kerosene. The result was that the death toll from the epidemic was much lower than that from previous yellow fever epidemics, and that there has not been a major outbreak of the disease in the United States since. Although no cure has yet been discovered, an effective vaccine has been developed, which can prevent and help people recover from the disease.