September 13: Yellow Fever

Dr. Jesse Lazear, age 34, allowed himself to be bitten by a mosquito on this date in 1900 while investigating the transmission of Yellow Fever in Cuba. In less than two weeks he was dead, which proved, as he had suspected, that the mosquito was key to transmission of the disease. Yellow Fever was an annual plague in the American South, bringing jaundice, liver failure, massive bleeding and almost certain death to thousands of people. The disease was endemic in Cuba, which the U.S. military had conquered from Spain that year, and a team of Army doctors headed by Walter Reed had come there to conduct human experimentation with paid “volunteers” in order to search out the Yellow Fever “germ.” A Cuban doctor, Carlos Finlay, had put forward the mosquito theory for two decades, but it was not until Lazear’s death that the Americans accepted it as fact and began a massive cleanup of mosquitos in Cuba. The very next year, only one Cuban died from Yellow Fever, and the campaign was exported to the U.S. — the first major public health triumph of the 20th century. A mural showing “Jewish Contributions to Medicine” at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles includes a portrayal of Dr. Lazear.

“He saw the insect on his hand and deliberately let it get its fill of blood in order to test our theory—Five days later he had his chill, followed by high fever—His case was a very severe one from the beginning, his death occurring on the 6th day there after—He was a splendid, brave fellow and I lament his loss more than words can tell; but his death was not in vain—His name will live in the history of those who have benefited humanity.” —Walter Reed