Jesse W. Lazear (1866-1900)
Then, in order to prove the theory for all time and to destroy the fomite myth, two specially constructed buildings were erected in Camp Lazear. Building Number One, or the "Infected Clothing Building," was composed of one room, 14 x 20 feet heated by a stove to ninety-five degrees. For twenty nights Dr. Robert P. Cooke and Privates Folk and Jernegan hung offensive clothing and beefing around the walls. They slept on sheets and pillows befouled by the blood and vomit of yellow fever victims. Not one of the volunteers contracted the disease. On December 19, 1900, they were relieved by Privates Hanberry and England who, in turn, were finally relieved by Privates Hildebrand and Andrus. From November 30, 1900 to January 10, 1901 the experiment ran to completion, disproving the fomite theory of transmission and thereby demonstrating the uselessness of destroying the personal effects of yellow fever victims, thus saving thousands of dollars in property.
The first volunteer at Camp Lazear was Private John R. Kissinger. Kissinger, an Ohioan from Truby’s hospital corps, developed yellow fever on December 8, 1900, after being bitten by several infected mosquitoes. He recovered ten days later, but the disease left permanent damage. He was granted a disability discharge the following year. In 1910, Congress rewarded Kissinger with a $100 per month pension for his services (Photo in Hench-Reed Collection, CMHSL, UVA).
The second building was similarly constructed and was called the "Infected Mosquito Building." It was divided into two parts separated by a screen with screens on the windows as well. Mr. John Moran, a clerk in General Fitzhugh Lee's office, was bitten by fifteen infected mosquitoes, developed the fever and recovered. The other volunteers who were separated, and thereby protected by the screen, escaped infection. Ten cases were produced in this manner.
Mr. John J. Moran, a civilian clerk in General Fitzhugh Lee’s headquarters, was bitten just six days after Kissinger, but he did not develop yellow fever. Moran later volunteered to be confined in Camp Lazear’s "Infected Mosquito Building." There he was bitten repeatedly by fifteen contaminated mosquitoes. On Christmas Day, 1900, he fell ill with yellow fever. Moran survived. Forty years later he assisted Dr. Philip S. Hench in his search for the actual site of Camp Lazear (Photo in Hench-Reed Collection, CMHSL, UVA).
Yellow fever was produced in the bodies of twelve more American and Spanish volunteers either by direct mosquito bites or by injections of infected blood or blood serum. These injections proved that the specific agent of yellow fever is in the blood and that passage through the body of a mosquito is not necessary to its development.
Dr. Philip S. Hench with Mr. John J. Moran (right) at Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, January 1944. Moran was one of several volunteers to be bitten by infected Aedes mosquitoes at Camp Lazear (Hench-Reed Collection, CMHSL, UVA).
The courage of the volunteers is inestimable. A unique honor helps keep alive the memory of the twenty-four gallant men who participated in this experiment. In 1929 Congress awarded a special gold medal to each man or his next of kin. Had it not been for Major Reed's fair and thoroughly scientific approach to the problem and misconceptions concerning the disease, especially the whole contagion theory, yellow fever might have continued for years. As a result of the Yellow Fever Board's success, Colonel William Crawford Gorgas, then Chief Sanitary Officer for the Department of Cuba, rid the island of this longtime pestilence. Realizing that the mosquitoes never stray far from human dwelling places in order to get their meals of blood necessary for them to lay their eggs, Colonel Gorgas organized inspection parties to check all homes in Havana for possible breeding places, insuring that the only standing water in the homes was needed for family use and properly screened. All other water receptacles were to be emptied. Later he applied the same techniques in the Canal Zone, freeing it of fever, permitting the United States to complete the Panama Canal so vital for commerce and deployment of the Pacific fleet. Thus the menace which had struck the United States every year since 1648, from Pensacola to Nantucket Island, was eradicated. There would be no more epidemics such as that in Memphis in 1878 which cost the country one hundred million dollars.
Hospital Corps Detachment at Camp Columbia, Havana, September 1900. Most of the volunteers for the yellow fever experiments came from this unit. Lt. Albert E. Truby, unit commander, is seated in the front row, second from left (Hench-Reed Collection, CMHSL, UVA).
In February, 1901 Walter Reed returned to the United States where he was an instant success in medical circles. All through the acclaim he remained modest and reserved. His constant hope of doing something to relieve the suffering of mankind had been fulfilled; his dedication to duty, sound judgment, and thorough scientific methods was an inspiration to the deans of medical research.
"Conquerors of Yellow Fever"
In 1900, Major Walter Reed was given the responsibility of finding the cause of yellow fever and eliminating it. After many unsuccessful experiments, he decided to test an old but unproven theory that the disease was transmitted by mosquitos. Unfortunately, no animal was known to be susceptible to yellow fever at the time, so it was necessary to use human volunteers. In the painting, Dr. Lazear, who died a month later as a result of self-experimentation, is shown inoculating Dr. Carroll with an infected mosquito, The experiment proved conclusively that the mosquito was the carrier of yellow fever.
In the summer of 1901, Dr. Carroll proved that the specific agent of yellow fever was sub-microscopic and too small to be caught in the pores of the diatomaceous filter that retained bacteria. Thus the last key to the disease was found. Carroll had proved through a series of innoculations that a filterable virus could cause disease in man. The Board's discoveries were confirmed by the Board of Health of Havana and later a commission of the Pasteur Institute confirmed the agent's filterability. In 1927 it was found that certain species of monkeys were susceptible to the virus, thereby eliminating the need for human subjects. In 1937 a vaccine against yellow fever, called 17-D, was produced by scientists of the International Health Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. The use of this vaccine became routine in the United States Army in 1942. Since yellow fever is still endemic in the jungles of Central America and Africa where anti-mosquito measures are almost impossible, the fever still exists. A distinction is therefore made between "urban" yellow fever which is under control and the jungle variety which persists. As yet there is no cure for the disease, only innoculation against it.
Dr. Philip S. Hench with Walter Reed's wife, Ms. Emilie L. Reed (left), and daughter, Ms. Emilie "Blossom" Reed (right), examining Walter Reed's Congressional Medal, January 1942 (Hench-Reed Collection, CMHSL, UVA).
After his return to the United States in February, 1901, Dr. Reed served again as professor of pathology and bacteriology at the Columbian (George Washington) University Medical School and as professor of bacteriology in the Army Medical School (the present Walter Reed Army Institute of Research). In the summer of 1901 he was awarded two honorary degrees: a Master of Arts from Harvard University and a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Michigan. He was appointed librarian of the Surgeon General's library on November 1, 1902. His duties sapped his strength and, following an appendectomy, he died of peritonitis on November 23, 1902. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. On his simple monument is inscribed the following epitaph, taken from the remarks of President Eliot when Harvard University conferred the Master of Arts degree: "He gave to man control over that dreadful scourge, yellow fever."
Additional Sources:
www.med.virginia.edu
wrair-www.army.mil
www.congressionalgoldmedal.com
www.personal.psu.edu
www.humanprint.com
