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Almost OT - Yellow Fever
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In the early days of the Philadelphia Mint, they closed down annually when yellow fever was at its pick.
What happened to yellow fever in the USA? How did it disappear?
Incidently I am finding net information on the net on yellow fever quite contradictory. The death rate is given as 3% if you actually catch the disease and as 80% if you merely go to and stay in a yellow feaver area. Part of the difference might be modern medicine versus that of 1800.
What happened to yellow fever in the USA? How did it disappear?
Incidently I am finding net information on the net on yellow fever quite contradictory. The death rate is given as 3% if you actually catch the disease and as 80% if you merely go to and stay in a yellow feaver area. Part of the difference might be modern medicine versus that of 1800.
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<<At the time of the Philadelphia epidemic, the most widespread belief was that the disease spread via contaminated water. A "Watering Committee" was appointed and recommended a municipal water supply, which came into use in 1801. The initial installation, by Benjamin Latrobe, was inefficient and unreliable, and was replaced in 1812-1815. Of course the water system did nothing directly to alleviate yellow fever, but it allowed city residents to remove their makeshift arrangements of wells and cisterns, which had provided breeding places for mosquitoes. Thus, the desired effect was actually achieved.>>
Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne disease, much like malaria. Both were actually huge problems in the southern and mid-Atlantic US in the early to mid 19th century.
I think yellow fever was eradicated as a side effect of the larger plan to eradicate malaria, a more common and deadly disease. This was done at the state and local level before the existence of the CDC. It was only around the turn of the century that medical people learned about mosquitoes carrying disease.
This was coupled with a general hygiene improvement in the population which included indoor plumbing, better building construction, surgical sterilization, hand washing, drainage of stagnant water, and insecticides which is much more effective than medication for controlling these diseases. Things like malaria, yellow fever, typhoid fever, cholera, and tuberculosis were significantly reduced all around the same time.
Yellow fever is a tropical disease and an epidemic does not survive a northern winter. Yellow fever was introduced into ports in the warm season by sailors from the West Indies where yellow fever was common in the old days..
In the 1790's, Yellow Fever did shut down the Philadelphia Mint on several occasssions. There are several books about this, one being "Bring Out Your Dead".
This happened from New Orleans to New York city during the late summer and early fall, as late as the 1820's. They didn't know the deadly infection was transmitted by mosquitoes.
Anyone can get yellow fever, but the elderly have a higher risk of severe infection. If a person is bitten by an infected mosquito, symptoms usually develop 3 - 6 days later.
Yellow fever has three stages:
Early stage: Headache, muscle and joint aches, fever, flushing, loss of appetite, vomiting, and jaundice are common. After approximately 3 - 4 days, often symptoms go away briefly (remission).
Period of remission: After 3 - 4 days, fever and other symptoms go away. Most people will recover at this stage, but others may move onto the third, most dangerous stage (intoxication stage) within 24 hours.
Period of intoxication: Multi-organ dysfunction occurs. This may include heart, liver, and kidney failure, bleeding disorders, hemorrhage, and brain dysfunction including delirium, seizures, coma, shock, and death.
.Back to TopSymptoms
Arrhythmias, heart dysfunction
Bleeding (may progress to hemorrhage)
Coma
Decreased urination
Delirium
Fever
Headache
Jaundice
Muscle aches (myalgia)
Red eyes, face, tongue
Seizures
Vomiting
Vomiting blood
.Back to TopExams and Tests
A person with advanced yellow fever may show signs of liver failure, renal failure, and shock.
If you have symptoms of yellow fever, tell your doctor if you have traveled to areas where the disease is known to thrive. Blood tests can confirm the diagnosis.
.Back to TopTreatment
There is no specific treatment for yellow fever. Treatment for symptoms can include:
Blood products for severe bleeding
Dialysis for kidney failure
Fluids through a vein (intravenous fluids)
.Back to TopOutlook (Prognosis)
Yellow fever varies in severity. Severe infections with internal bleeding and fever (hemorrhagic fever) are deadly in up to half of cases.
.Back to TopPossible Complications
Coma
Death
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
Kidney failure
Liver failure
Parotitis
Secondary bacterial infections
Shock
.Back to TopWhen to Contact a Medical Professional
Get medical attention at least 10 - 14 days before traveling to an endemic area for yellow fever to find out whether you should be vaccinated against the disease.
Tell your health care provider right away if you or your child develop fever, headache, muscle aches, vomiting, or jaundice, especially if you have traveled to an area where yellow fever is known to occur.
.Back to TopPrevention
If you will be traveling to an area where yellow fever is common:
Sleep in screened housing
Use mosquito repellents
Wear clothing that fully covers your body
There is an effective vaccine against yellow fever. Ask your doctor at least 10 - 14 days before traveling if you should be vaccinated against yellow fever.
.Back to TopReferences
Bell M. Viral hemorrhagic fevers. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine . 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 404.
Thought this was a post about gold
You can add Boston to the list - about 1805. I think New Orleans had an epidemic about 1853.
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