Yellow Fever: an Epidemiological and Historical Study of its Place of Origin

Abstract

THE history of yellow fever, notorious for the dramatic suddenness of its outbreaks, and for two centuries an ever-present terror to the crews of old sailing ships, and the coastal towns on both sides of the Atlantic, as might have been expected, has attracted the attention of many writers. Most of these histories, however, were written before the method of transmission of the disease had been discovered; consequently it was very desirable that these earlier accounts of epidemics should be re-examined in the light of more exact information as to the epidemiology of yellow fever. The early history of the disease has now been very carefully investigated by Henry Rose Carter, a well-known authority, who after retiring from the position of assistant surgeon-general in the United States Public Health Service, devoted the last three years of his life to this subject. At his death in 1925, the present work had been fully drafted, but it has been prepared for publication, with some additions, by L. A. Carter and W. H. Frost. The result is a fascinating account of a subject interwoven with the early history of all maritime nations, since yellow fever is essentially a disease of seaports and ships. Yellow Fever: an Epidemiological and Historical Study of its Place of Origin. By Dr. Henry Rose Carter Laura Armistead Carter Wade Hampton Frost. Pp. xii + 308. (Baltimore, Md.: The Williams and WilMns Co.; London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, 1931.) 26s. 6d. net.