surgeon and U.S. Army bacteriologist who investigated the cause of yellow fever. was born in Gloucester County, Virginia, September 13, 1851, and studied at the University of Virginia and the Faculty of Medicine at Bellevue Hospital. In 1875 he joined the Army Medical Corps, where he served as a military surgeon. In 1893 he served as professor of bacteriology and microscopy at the Army Medical School in Washington, and during the next 7 years conducted extensive research on the etiology, control and transmission of epidemic diseases.
One of his most notable investigation was organized by the War Department called to examine an outbreak of typhoid fever among U.S. troops and the findings of the commission made a major contribution to the prevention and control of epidemics caused by that fever.
However, Reed's greatest contribution was the result of its work in 1900 as director of a committee to study the causes and transmission of yellow fever in Cuba. In 1881, the Cuban physician Carlos Juan Finlay (and posted on this blog) proposed the theory that the vector of the disease was the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Walter Reed confirmed that theory conclusively, because after much research and experiments on volunteer soldiers, showed in 1901 that yellow fever is spread only through the bite of the Aedes mosquito. As a result, it was possible to virtually eliminate the disease in Havana, to kill mosquitoes in the area.
Shortly after his return from Cuba, Reed died in Washington on November 22, 1902. Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington is named in his honor. There is no known treatment
for yellow fever. In 1937, the South African doctor Max Theiler (already posted on this blog) developed a vaccine that confers immunity to the disease. At present, vaccination is still required for all persons traveling to endemic areas in this disease and other parts of the world.
work Author: Company Malonda, Alicia.
0 comments:
Post a Comment