CHAPTER XXIV 

 YELLOW FEVER 



The bacteriology of yellow fever lias been studied by Domingos 

 Freire,* Carmona y Valle,t Sternberg, { Havelburg,§ and Sanarelli,|| 

 but all of their work has been shown to be incorrect by the interest- 

 ing researches and very conclusive results of Finlay,** Carter,ff 

 Reed, Carroll, Lazear, and Agramonte,Jt and Reed and Carroll, §§ 

 which have proved the mosquito to be the definitive host of an in- 

 visible micro-organism. 



Reed, Carroll, Lazear, and Agramonte,|||| constituting a Board 

 of Medical Officers "for the purpose of pursuing scientific investiga- 

 tions with reference to the acute infectious diseases prevalent on the 

 island of Cuba," began their work in 1900, at Havana, by a careful 

 investigation of the relationship of Bacillus icteroides to yellow 

 fever. By a most careful technic they withdrew and examined the 

 blood from the veins of the elbow of 18 cases of yellow fever, mak- 

 ing 48 separate examinations on different days of the disease, and 

 preparing 115 bouillon cultures and 18 agar plates, every examination 

 being negative so far as Bacillus icteroides was concerned. They 

 were entirely unable to confirm the findings of Wasdin and Ged- 

 dings,*** that Bacillus icteroides was present in blood obtained 

 from the ear in 13 out of 14 cases, and concluded that both Sanarelli, 

 and Wasdin and Geddings were mistaken in their deductions. 



In lieu of the remarkably interesting discoveries of Ronald Ross 

 concerning the relation of the mosquito to malarial infection, the 

 commissioners, remembering the theory of Beaupertius, who in 1854 



* " Doctrine microbienne de la fievre jaune et ses inoculation preventives," 

 Rio Janeiro, 1885. 



t "Lefons sur l'6tiologie et la prophylaxie de la fievre jaune," Mexico, 1885. 

 t "Report on the Etiology and Prevention of Yellow Fever," Washington, 

 1891; "Report on the Prevention of Yellow Fever by Inoculation," Washington, 

 1888. 



§ "Ann. de I'Inst. Pasteur," 1897. 



Ir'Brit. Med. Jour.," July 3, 1897; "Ann. de I'Inst. Pasteur," June, Sept., 

 and Oct., 1897*. 



** " Amer. Jour. Med. Sci.," 1891, vol. cii, p. 264; "Ann. de la Real Academia," 

 i88i, vol. XVIII, pp. 147-169; "Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc," Vol. xxxviii, April 19, 

 1902, p. 993. 

 tt "New Orleans Med. Jour.," May, 1890. 



tt "Phila. Med. Jour.," Oct. 27, 1900; "Public Health," vol.xxvi, 1900, p. 23. 

 §§ "Public Health," 1901, vol. xxvii, p. 113. 

 I II "Phfla. Med. Jour.," Oct. 27, 1900. 



*** "Report of the Commission of Medical Officers Detailed by the Authority 

 of the President to Investigate the Cause of Yellow Fever," Washington, D. C, 

 1899. 



574 



