Yellow Jack—How Yellow Fever Ravaged America and Walter Reed

BOOK REVIEWS Yellow Jack—How The first 5 chapters describe the contaminated items or “poison air.” introduction of yellow fever in North Although the story is familiar to Yellow Fever America before 1900. Of particular some, the authors present an exciting Ravaged America interest is the chapter detailing events narrative with details not available and Walter Reed of the 1793 outbreak in Philadelphia, elsewhere in the literature. The peri- and the efforts of Benjamin Rush to odic use of quotations from letters and Discovered Its treat patients and determine the spe- original sources is most welcome. Deadly Secrets cific cause. Chapter 6 compares the The book includes a useful Notes roles played by Carlos Juan Finlay section and an extensive bibliography. and George Miller Sternberg before Additionally, 12 pages of photos and John R. Pierce and James V. Writer and during the work of the US Army illustrations are provided, some of Yellow Fever Board. Dr Finlay was a which are not as clear as one might John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Cuban physician who had theorized wish. Overall, however, this book is a Hoboken, New Jersey, 2005 that mosquitoes transmitted the yel- valuable addition to the literature on ISBN: 0-471-47261-1 low fever virus, while Sternberg, a medical history. It will have broad Pages: 278, Price US $24.95 US Army physician, claimed to have appeal to scientists and nonscientists discovered a bacterium that was the alike because of the nature of the Yellow Jack is a compelling and etiologic agent of yellow fever. story, the magnitude of the problem thorough narrative of one of the most Most of the remaining 10 chapters that was solved, and the easy-to-read interesting chapters in medical histo- primarily discuss the work of the US writing style of the authors. I recom- ry. The book, which is highly readable Army Yellow Fever Board, led by mend it highly. even to those who may think they Major Walter Reed. Yellow fever had know this story, is based on a series of ravaged North America for >200 Stanton Cope* articles written by one of the authors, years, bringing death and economic *Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical John R. Pierce, for Stripe, a publica- ruin to several major cities. Major Research, Great Lakes, Illinois, USA tion of the Walter Reed Army Medical Reed designed a series of simple Address for correspondence: Stanton Cope, Center. Dr Pierce was a colonel in the experiments, using human volunteers, Commanding Officer, Naval Institute for Army Medical Corps and recently which clearly showed that yellow Dental and Bioomedical Research, 310A B St, retired after 30 years of active duty fever was transmitted only by the bite Great Lakes, IL 60088, USA; fax: 847- service. of infected mosquitoes and not by 68804279; email: [email protected] Correction: Vol. 11, No. 4 In "Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia, Australia," by Peter Collignon et al., an error occurred. On page 556, in Table 1, in line 10 of column 6, the value indicating total bloodstream infections over study period (all orgs) in Hospital E should be 1,296. The corrected table appears in the online article at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no04/04- 0772.htm#table1 We regret any confusion this error may have caused. 1652 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 11, No. 10, October 2005.

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