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Author: John R. Pierce
ISBN : B000VXHDY2
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Download file now Free Download Yellow Jack: How Yellow Fever Ravaged America and Walter Reed Discovered Its Deadly Secrets for everyone book with Mediafire Link Download LinkThe end of a scourge
"The prayer that has been mine for twenty years, that I might be permitted in some way or some time to do something to alleviate human suffering, has been answered!"
--Major Walter Reed, writing to his wife, New Year's Eve, 1900
As he wrote to his wife of his stunning success in the mission to identify the cause of yellow fever and find a way to eradicate the disease, Walter Reed had answered the prayers of millions. For more than 250 years, the yellow jack had ravaged the Americas, bringing death to millions and striking panic in entire populations. The very mention of its presence in a city or town produced instant chaos as thousands fled in terror, leaving the frail, the weak, and the ill to fend for themselves.
Yellow Jack tracks the history of this deadly scourge from its earliest appearance in the Caribbean 350 years ago, telling the compelling story of a few extraordinarily brave souls who struggled to understand and eradicate yellow fever. Risking everything for the cause of science and humanity, Reed and his teammates on the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Board invaded the heart of enemy territory in Cuba to pursue the disease--and made one of the twentieth century's greatest medical discoveries. This thrilling adventure tells the timeless tale of their courage, ingenuity, and triumph in the face of adversity.Books with free ebook downloads available Free Download Yellow Jack: How Yellow Fever Ravaged America and Walter Reed Discovered Its Deadly Secrets
- File Size: 3361 KB
- Print Length: 288 pages
- Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 29, 2005)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B000VXHDY2
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
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- Lending: Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,688 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
Free Download Yellow Jack: How Yellow Fever Ravaged America and Walter Reed Discovered Its Deadly Secrets
Yellow fever first appeared in the Carribean over 350 years ago. This was a devasting illness that claimed the lives of roughly 20% of it's victims. The disease went virtually unchecked for well over 200 years and wreaked havoc in Cuba, Hispaniola and throughout South America. The cause was unknown. It would kill millions. As international trade grew in the latter part of the 18th century, epidemics of yellow fever would spread north to many cities in the United States as well. Outbreaks would occur as far north as Boston and New York. In 1793, a historic outbreak in the city of Philadelphia would claim more than 5000 lives, roughly 10% of the city's population. By the mid to late nineteenth century it was becoming abundantly clear that uncovering the cause of and ultimately finding a cure for this scourge was becoming a top priority for the U.S. government.
In "Yellow Jack: How Yellow Fever Ravaged America and Walter Reed Discovered Its Deadly Secrets" authors John R. Pierce and Jim Writer tell the remarkable story of those committed doctors and scientists who would put so much on the line in a heroic attempt to unravel this complex and often frustrating medical mystery. Carlos Juan Finlay, a researcher working in Cuba in the 1880's and 1890's, is generally credited as the first to identify a particular species of mosquito as being responsible for the transmission of yellow fever. His theory was quite controversial and it would be a quarter century before his suspicions would be confirmed. The conventional wisdom at that time was that the disease was highly contagious and could be transmitted by what was then known as "fomites". Pierce and Writer explain that fomites are "all contaminated objects or materials from yellow fever patients (clothing, bedding, furniture and so on)".