Philadelphia Under Siege: The Yellow Fever Of 1793

In the early 1900’s medicine was making some steps closer into some great improvements for health and better understanding of the human body. Doctors with sufficient knowledge of the human body and cures for diseases and viruses were scarce. People were much more concerned with government and politics, than health and medicine, until one of the greatest and most grotesque lethal pandemics that’s struck the earth in human history. This pandemic the “Spanish Flu” spread so rapidly and had an extremely high mortality rate. This was caused by the close contact of humans and poor cleanliness and sanitation, and the host (virus) and the body taking harsh action

It is not until the ninth observation that Devéze began to see success in his treatments. This observation was the start of his new approached to the treatment of the fever. Unfortunately, he does not write what encouraged him to change his methods. However, he took notice to the failure of his treatments in the beginning of the epidemic and began to make adjustments to save the lives of his patients.

Devéze’s understanding of yellow fever had come entirely from the ideas of physicians in the West Indies. Like American doctors, West Indies doctors theorized that the fever evolved from disturbances in the atmosphere which disrupted the balance of the humors. Much like the rotten coffee theory, the doctors claimed that yellow fever developed from putrid exhalations that contaminated the air. Devéze used this theory while trying to understand the epidemic in Philadelphia. He proclaimed that when the air was filled with infected matter, the body would become susceptible to disease. He writes that the degree of which the disease affected the body differed among patients. The deadliness of the disease was based on aspects such as unhealthy

In 1932, the Yellow Fever vaccination was developed by Jean Laigret. Yellow fever is a viral infection spread by a type of mosquito. The disease involved fatal symptoms such as the failure of heart, liver, and kidney conditions.

The reader knows “all was not right” in the city. Benjamin Rush soon realized all the sicknesses was not the sickness that comes around every year around this time, it was the yellow fever. In the book all these deaths are piling up and everyone just thinks it’s not serious because it happens every time, in this part of the year. They soon called it the “Yellow Fever” because they noticed the eyes were telling yellow and they turned pale.

In the book Fever 1793 Mattie 's mother falls ill with the fever, as Mattie explains, "mother flew off the pillows violently ill, vomiting blood all over the bed and floor. Her eyes rolled back in her head." (Anderson) Mattie 's mother has just woken up ill in the middle of the night. Mattie knows that she is not safe sticking around so her and her grandfather flee in search for a safer place. The description in the book of yellow fever helps influence research and further studies to find a cure because not only does the reader and the audience get a detailed description of the fever, they also see the emotional side. Mattie is scared and she tries her best to take care of the mother all she can without becoming infected herself. Because of the emotional effects it has on the readers, researchers take to account how damaging the virus really is not only to the infected but to the bystanders. Between the years of 1793 and 2016, researchers have come up with ways to lessen the intensity of the symptoms by prescribing, things such as aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and taking the patients into places like hospitals where the patients can and will be kept in a

The historical research done into the lives of the principals, details of historical events and of the virus of yellow fever. As Crosby asserts, yellow fever came from West Africa to the United States on slave ships, is carried by mosquitoes and thrives in warm and wet environments (History.com Staff, 2009). However, in the book Crosby focuses the view of the history of yellow fever in the United States on the Memphis epidemic of 1878. While this was a massive epidemic and the worst one in American history, (Crosby, 41), the research leaves out other major predecessors to the Memphis epidemic. The Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic in 1793 depopulated the nation’s capital at similar levels and was the first major outbreak in the United States (Graham, 2016). Outbreaks continued. The outbreak in New Orleans in 1853, settled in the perfect environment for an outbreak, killed a whopping 7,849 (Waits, 2016). Though these epidemics and others are mentioned in Crosby’s account, they are presented as more of an afterthought than an important part of the history of yellow fever as they

In Fever, 1793, people can suffer in so many ways: physically, yes, but also emotionally. But, while pain and suffering are supremely terrible, the people in Fever 1793 must cope with this terrible disease that brings death, loss, and even theft. According to Fever 1793 page 33 “I miss her. I didn’t even get to say good-bye.” Mattie was talking about Polly, one of her best friends who was killed by the Fever. Polly’s death was very sudden, therefore it caused many citizens to worry about the fever. On page 71 in Fever 1793 “Rowley, the imposter. Autumnal fever indeed. Your mother has yellow fever. There’s no doubt at all.” When Mattie found out that her mother had yellow fever, this shocked her at first, causing her to have mental suffering.

Many studies have come to the conclusion that yellow fever is “A tropical disease affecting the liver and kidneys, causing fever and jaundice and is often fatal.”According to “The deadly fever: Documentary on America’s yellow fever disaster” the disease brings upon a variety of symptoms such as: headaches, high fever, back pains, and just hurting all over along with being sore. This would usually last about 48 to 72 hours, afterwards yellow fever attacks the liver and kidneys, once the liver is destroyed many proteins that your body needs are also destroyed, causing jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes) hence where the name yellow fever comes from.

On December 6th in the New York Times, Donald McNeil Jr. writes, “Yellow Fever Epidemic in Africa Shows Gaps in Vaccine Pipeline. An outbreak of yellow fever in Africa this year was a huge epidemic that was almost a disaster. “The epidemic was not widely recognized”, public health experts recently reported. The epidemic also showing the weaknesses in the emergency vaccine supply pipeline.The first deaths of yellow fever were reported in Angola. Originally they were misdiagnosed as food poisoning. The global emergency vaccine stockpile was drained before just one city was entirely protected from yellow fever. Also, diagnostic laboratories were too far away which made it months before people were warned that the outbreak was present.

To understand the practices of the doctors of the Yellow Fever epidemic, there has to be an understanding of eighteenth century medical education. An examination is vital to understand why the physicians of the epidemic treated their patients the way they did. This thesis will outline the education of the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh was the forerunner in medical education in the eighteenth century. It was a hub of the best and newest medical knowledge. The university offered both lectures and clinical practice which attracted aspiring American physicians. Edinburgh’s model of education is seen in the foundation of American apprenticeships and its first medical school in Philadelphia. Although Edinburgh was considered to be the most prestigious

There has been a large outbreaks of yellow fever and everyone in a warm climate is at risk. There has been ample

Yellow fever is a deadly disease caused by a viral infection that is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Although it is found to be most common in males in their early 20's, yellow fever can affect any sex, race, or age. Since yellow fever is carried by mosquitoes, it is most often found in areas such as Central America, the northern half of South America, and Central Africa where mosquitoes are abundant. The reason why it is found so often in these

Yellow fever is originated in Africa and was brought to us from Americas on ships during the trading of slaves. Several outrageous yellow fever attacks have occurred throughout history. The city of Philadelphia have lost about one-tenth of its population during the yellow fever outbreak causing many people in Americans to flee the city. The last major yellow fever breakdown in North America occurred in New Orleans in

Astoundingly, William Gogas was able to eraticate yellow fever in just 18 months. This illness along with Malaria wreaked havoc on the health and wellness of the canal population. Yellow fever was so pervasive and intrusive that it caused among fever and chills much more deadly symptoms including, organ failure, internal hemorrhaging, and jaundice. Much debate surrounded the transmission of yellow fever. Upon reading the effective results of Colonel Gorgas, I was inclined to research what methods he employed to tackle such a feat. I found through additional research a more thorough account of his eradication techniques which first included convincing President Theodore Roosevelt to front the price tag for a process most