{"id":16485,"date":"2019-06-07T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T15:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=16485"},"modified":"2023-05-16T11:09:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T15:09:50","slug":"data-science-in-politics-of-yellow-fever-discovering-the-cause-of-yellow-fever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2019\/06\/07\/data-science-in-politics-of-yellow-fever-discovering-the-cause-of-yellow-fever\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Science in Politics of Yellow Fever: Discovering the Cause of Yellow Fever"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tannaz Motevalli, Sarah Eilers, Laura Hartman, and Erika Mills<\/em><\/p>\n

In the previous blog post \u201cData Science in Politics of Yellow Fever<\/em>: Medical Research Before \u2018Data\u2019<\/a>,\u201d we began to examine how researchers in the past used data to inform their search for the cause of yellow fever, and how the integration of data in medical research created compelling, yet not always accurate, results. In this second and final part of our series, we explore how data was used after the discovery that mosquitoes were transmitting the disease and the impact of this discovery on society at large.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
The Etiology of Yellow Fever: A Preliminary Note<\/em>, Walter Reed, James Carroll, Aristides Agramonte, and Jesse W. Lazear, 1901.
National Library of Medicine #101209381<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1881, it was Dr. Carlos J. Finlay who first proposed a link between mosquitoes and the transmissions of yellow fever. Two decades later, the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Commission, led by Dr. Walter Reed, conducted the research to confirm Finlay\u2019s original hypothesis. The Commission presented their findings at the American Public Health Association\u2019s 1900 annual meeting. In this joint publication of their findings presented at the annual meeting, the Commission offers facts and figures through charts, tables, and other diagrams to support their conclusions. The discussion is concise, focused on describing the data and explaining research methodology. The Etiology of Yellow Fever <\/em>was meant to communicate scientific information to an audience of peers and medical professionals. After Walter Reed confirmed mosquitoes as the disease vector, the U.S. Army began a mosquito control campaign.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Few General Directions with Regard to Destroying Mosquitoes, Particularly the Yellow-fever Mosquito<\/em>, William Crawford Gorgas, 1904.
National Library of Medicine #101177822<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

William Gorgas, a physician and the chief sanitary officer of the Panama Canal Commission, oversaw the most successful anti-mosquito campaigns.\u00a0In 1904, he issued guidelines for eradicating mosquitoes that included detailed descriptions of mosquito breeding and how the insects\u2019 breeding impacted the transmission of yellow fever. Gorgas argued that by eliminating the presence of adult mosquitoes capable of spreading the disease, eradicating yellow fever could become a possibility. His guidelines advocated for major environmental and infrastructural changes including draining ponds and swamps, constructing public water systems; and the use of mosquito netting. Despite being published by the Government Printing Office, his guidelines emphasized the need to make this information accessible to all, even those outside the federal government, stating: \u00a0\u00a0\u201c<\/em>I thought an account of the relations of mosquitoes to disease, given in simple terms, readily understood by those who are not doctors, might help people generally in making an attempt to get rid of mosquitoes, each man about his own house.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Film and Video in the Politics of Yellow Fever<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

During the 1940s\u20131960s, mosquito control continued to take priority when protecting the public from yellow fever. Military initiatives for mosquito control began to introduce heavy use of insecticides claiming magnificent results. Audio-visual material in the NLM historical collections documents this shift towards using chemicals for mosquito eradication. Larvicides\u2014chemical pesticides targeting mosquitoes in the larval form\u2014as a \u201cmiracle treatment\u201d is a common theme in films from this era. In DDT: Weapon Against Disease<\/a><\/em>, the insecticide is sprayed in every space where soldiers live and work and is hailed as a lifesaver.<\/p>\n