Yellow
fever was one of the most dangerous diseases during the 19th
century, with several terrible outbreaks in the Americas, Africa, and
Europe. People needed to figure out how the disease was spread so
they could fight it!
Enter
our birthday boy, a Cuban scientist and doctor. He studied yellow
fever and made a hypothesis (which means an educated guess) that the
disease was being spread through mosquitos. If an infected person was
bitten by a mosquito, and later a healthy person was bitten by the
same mosquito, the second person usually developed the disease.
Finlay
(born on this day in 1833) published this hypothesis in 1886,
but his idea was ignored for two decades. Finally U.S. military
doctor Walter Reed paid attention to Finlay's idea and began to test
it. Soon Reed's team confirmed that the mosquito was spreading the
disease, and people began to control the disease by controlling
the mosquitos.
We
call “pests” (like rats or mosquitos) that carry diseases “vectors.”
Reed
often gets the credit for “beating” yellow fever, but he
gives credit to Finlay. Unfortunately, the disease isn't really
beaten, yet; is only controlled in parts of the in the world. Africa
still has a problem with the disease, and it can still crop up in
Latin America, too. As a matter of fact, there are an estimated
200,000 cases each year, with 30,000 people dying of yellow fever per
year!
Learn
more, take action!
PestWorld for Kids has info, science fair kits, and games.
Malaria
is also spread by mosquitos, as are other dangerous illnesses. The
United Nations Foundation has a campaign called Nothing But Nets.
Donate to help prevent mosquito-borne illnesses and death!
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