Walter Reed
by: Mariah Lucero
Biography
What He Studied
Yellow Fever Epidemic
-Reed and the board investigated in U.S garrison at Havana
-Malaria disease was in barracks 200 miles from Havana, Reed found that it was actually Yellow fever.
-Only one of the nine prisoners had the disease.
-The members of the commission (including Reed) believed the prisoner was bitten by some insect.
-Reed decided the main work would be to find out if it was spread by an insect intermediate host
-August 27, 1900 an infected mosquito was allowed to feed on Carroll one of the commissioners
-He developed yellow fever, was ill, but recovered
-Lazear another member of the team was bitten and died after developing the disease.
-November of 1900 controlled experiments were performed on volunteers
-Reed proved an attack of yellow fever was caused by being bitten by an infected mosquito
-A vaccination was not made for yellow fever in early 1900's, but there was mosquito control especially in Cuba.
- Thesefindings helped find a way to make a vaccination
Smaller findings
Malaria
-An outbreak of Malaria broke out in 1896 in Fort Myer, Virginia
-Reed proved that contaminated drinking water wasn't causing the epidemic
- He figured this out by making connections like where the infected areas got their water. -He also found it was infecting enlisted men because they traveled the city through a swamp trail. In conclusion, Walter Reed discovered Malaria was caused by "Bad Air".
Typhoid Outbreak
-1898 during the Spanish- America war Reed was to chair a board investigating typhoid outbreaks
-The outbreaks were happening in Cuba
-The bacillus of the typhoid bacteria was believed to be spread by contaminated water
-The board found it was spread by flies and contact with infected feces.
-The importance of the findings of this investigation is it is a model for epidemiologists
Works Cited
"Walter Reed." Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.