Posted on 04/14/2018 5:14:47 AM PDT by BBell
The legacy: It was an annual plague. Every summer, as warm weather set in, New Orleans braced for an outbreak of yellow fever. Those who could afford it got the heck out, fleeing to the Northshore or farther. Those who couldn't, stayed. And they prayed. Nearly every year, hundreds of them would be killed anyway by the so-called "saffron scourge" -- sometimes thousands. Then, in 1900, a team led by Army doctor Walter Reed confirmed a key discovery: It was the mosquitoes. The winged pests weren't just annoying. They were deadly, spreading the virus that caused the disease. That breakthrough gave New Orleanians the information they needed to put the brakes on yellow fever -- and save untold lives in the process
The quote: "Louisiana and New Orleans, this summer, did what, so far as I remember, has never been done in the case of a similar epidemic of yellow fever in the United States. They took hold of it after it had started and when it had got well under way, and they controlled and conquered it without waiting for the frost to come." -- President Theodore Roosevelt, during an October 1905 visit to New Orleans
Reed was born in 1851 in Gloucester County, Virginia, the son of a Methodist minister.
Walter Reed the physician became the youngest person to earn a medical degree from the University of Virginia in 1869. He was 18. He earned a second medical degree from New York's Bellevue Medical College. He joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1875 as an assistant surgeon. In 1893, he joined the faculty of the Army Medical School. His chosen discipline: bacteriology.
-snip-
The discovery of the mosquito link prompted a robust public education campaign in New Orleans. In addition to urging local residents to sleep under mosquito nets and screen their
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
How could a white Christian male accomplish so much? Should we throw his discoveries into the sea?
Mark
Then they banned DDT so that the mosquitoes could continue to flourish.
Or am I mixing my doctors up.
He did but not as much as with yellow fever.
“Then they banned DDT so that the mosquitoes could continue to flourish.”
Yeah, Rachel Carson’s last revenge.
His work made the Panama Canal possible among other things.
He and Dr Gorgas (USA); after whom the former Army hospital in Panama was named.
Yes, per today’s liberal theology, this man and his accomplishments should not be honored.
Give it a few years, and they will rip the name of Walter Reed off of the medical center.
A few years ago, New Orleans deleted the name of George Washington School, because Washington own slaves. The school was renamed after an African king. But there’s no word as to whether the black students at that school have greater achievement or self-esteem, due to attending a school named after an African.
“The school was renamed after an African king. But there’s no word as to whether the black students at that school have greater achievement or self-esteem, due to attending a school named after an African.”
What African king?
.
I also forgot to mention that Walter Reed was a White, Christian SOUTHERNER, even more of a sin that before. He likely even had a female wife and never thought about wearing women’s clothes!
bump
Not sure what African country Charles Richard Drew was King of.
Thanks for info. I was mistaken that they named the school after an African king.
But, they did take Washington’s name away because he was alleged to be evil as a slave owner.
If these trends keep up, can we name any public places, streets, etc. after anyone in history? Because we will find fault with just about anyone from the past, when we learn such person didn’t have a 21st century worldview or politically correct conscience.
We see it with the derision towards the Founding Fathers as slave owners. Thus, we are supposed to think, their lives are valueless because of this particular issue.
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
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