Yellow fever is a disease that is caused by viruses and spread by mosquitoes. The disease has several characteristics some of which will be discussed below. The name "yellow" is derived from the significant symptom as seen in most patients – jaundice which is the yellowing of the skin. The disease is also characterized by a headache, muscle pain and nausea among other symptoms. It has an incubation of about seven to ten days (World Health Organization, 2018). In modern days, the disease is prevented using a vaccine that is given once in a person's life. This paper is a general overview of the book The American Plague by Molly Caldwell. The main intention of this book is to show the effect that the cause of the outbreak of yellow fever in Memphis and the impact that the disease had on the people and the nation at large. The story highlights the interruption that the illness made on the governments of the cities involved and the measures that were taken to curb the spread of the infection. In addition to this, the Caldwell also shows alterations that the virus caused in its place of origin – African forests. She notes that there is a sudden quiet in the woods since the monkeys were infected.
The book begins in the African forests where men go to log. The rain in this areas causes the disease to have proper means to spread as the mosquitoes hatched. The results of the condition were that the monkeys got infected and the forests became silent than they were earlier. The rampant slave trade also marked this era. The Africans have initially developed a resistance for the disease. On exposure to the poor conditions as they are taken for the slave trade, the disease manifests in the slaves, and many die in the voyage. The disease is thought to be spread to some counties of the United States especially Memphis which is significantly affected. In the second section, she quotes Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic text the masque of Red Death to highlight the ravages that the disease had caused in the affected areas. She highlights one of the most common economic systems in the county which was cotton growing. The people depended on it as their primary source of income, and the cotton was grown around the Mississippi River. The town was very populated due to the business with an estimated population of about 40000 which made it one of the most populated after cities such as New Orleans. The availability of the railroad that connected to the other areas was one of the primary methods that enhanced the spread of the virus to other areas.
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The illness was more favorable to the black people compared to the white people, and the mortality of the black people was only eight percent compared to that of the white people which was an alarming seventy percent. This caused some of the leaders in the country to try and imply quarantine on the people, but since the condition was a sanitary option, most of the leaders opposed it. The situation led to the setting of a committee called the Havana Commission that was aimed at finding a lasting solution to the epidemic. One of the most influential members of the team was Dr. Carlos who was fluent in several languages. The committee was formed in 1879 and was composed of several people who were experts in the disease. The group aimed at finding the primary source of the infection and how they could solve the problem. They aimed at improving the sanitary conditions that were existent in the country. The work of the committee attracted the attention of President William McKinley.
The illness caused the retreat of the soldiers who were fighting in the Spanish American war. The troops were significantly affected by the disease and would not go ahead with the war. The soldiers were taken to Montauk Point where they awaited the quarantine from the illness. George Stenberg was a surgeon and one of the most influential people in the American Spanish war and was also affected by the disease as most of his soldiers became obstacles instead of being of benefit to the war. He advised the leaders against sending the soldiers to Cuba which was affected by the illness. The illness is demonstrated as the suffering of the patients in the camps. An excellent example of the people who express the theme of suffering in the book is Vaughan.
In this time of despair, a doctor named Walter Reed emerged as a hero for the way he handled and treated patients. Due to the excellent work that he had done, Reed and Doctor James Carroll were sent to Cuba to find out more about the disease. He later submitted the results of his review. Further research was carried out by other specialists such as Lazear who kept some of the mosquitoes in his lab. The experiments were carried out on animals as the scientists tried to find the cause and cure for the disease. The tests were later carried out on patients by Doctor Jesse Lazear which caused great public outrage. Jesse used the mosquitoes he had kept as pets in his lab. The book highlights some of the breakthroughs that the doctors took until a cure was found in early 1900.
In 1900 the doctors discovered that the virus was contained in blood and was spread by mosquitoes. The remedy of this condition was to inject the people with the serum that was infected with the virus so that they could develop resistance for the condition. The first people were volunteers who served as test subjects to the vaccination. Reed had a book about the illness, and it contained many of his encounters and previous experiences. It also highlighted his discoveries about the condition. Some of the experiments on the vaccination may have failed, but the invention was a milestone in curbing the spread of the disease. Reed died due to a partially perforated appendix in 1902. From the findings of the vaccination, the methods used in inoculation became more refined, and the vaccination became better and more efficient. As a result, the previous failures that had occurred due to the injection of blood containing the virus were reduced to a minimum. In modern days, the Aedes mosquito (Aedes Aegypti) is known as the leading carrier of the virus. There are however other species that have traces of the virus in them. The cases still show themselves in some of the Nigerian countries despite the advancements that have been made.
The author succeeds in highlighting the effects of the disease in the affected areas. She highlights most of the significant events from the beginning of the yellow fever virus to the end when a cure is found. She uses both primary and secondary sources. An example of a primary source is the minutes that were gotten from meetings held by the doctors in Memphis that she got from the library. An example of a secondary source is the article by Simon R. Bruesch – Journal of the Tennessee Medical Association.
Reference
World Health Organisation. (2018). Yellow fever. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/yellow-fever
