The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing

With plenty of gory details, Jurmain recounts the six months in 1900 when Dr. Walter Reed and his team of doctors in Cuba determined that mosquitoes carry yellow fever. Dangerous experiments helped them narrow their focus and eliminate other theories about the disease’s origin, but at the cost of the one young doctor’s death. Even reluctant readers will respond to the gruesome descriptions of the disease and of brave volunteers who wore blood-and-vomit–covered clothing in 100-degree heat to see if yellow fever could be passed on through cloth (it can’t). Quotations from the doctors’ letters and later accounts by other participants gives the story an immediacy heightened by conversational writing full of questions and cliffhangers. Almost every double-page spread features a black-and-white photograph of the players, their equipment or artifacts, with little photos of mosquitoes scattered throughout. Match this with Fever, 1793 (2000), by Laurie Halse Anderson, and An American Plague (2003), by Jim Murphy, both recommended as “Further Reading,” to complete this powerful exploration of a disease that killed 100,000 U.S. citizens in the 1800s. (appendix, glossary, endnotes, bibliography, index [not seen]) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)

Gr 610This medical mystery is extremely interesting, easy to read, and well illustrated with period photos. It's the story of Walter Reed and his team of U.S. Army doctors who went to Cuba in 1900 to study yellow fever and determine how it was spread. It was important in light of the United States's involvement in a war with Spain for Cuba's freedom and for future developments in South America. Yellow fever outbreaks, such as the one in Philadelphia in 1793, had long plagued America and her neighbors to the south, but despite advances in bacteriology, no progress had been made in discovering how the disease was spread. Jurmain explains Reed's approach to the scientific problem and how it changed over time as more was learned. The individual doctors and volunteers involved are brought to life by the author's use of primary sources such as letters, reports, etc. How the team eventually discovered and then verified that yellow fever was spread by mosquitoes was a combination of luck, good scientific practices, and careful note keeping. Young people interested in medicine or scientific discovery will find this book engrossing, as will history students. End matter includes short biographical sketches of all the volunteers who took part in the experiments, at great risk to their own lives. Exemplary nonfiction."Robin Henry, Wakeland High School, Frisco, TX" Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"With plenty of gory details . . . Even reluctant readers will respond to the gruesome descriptions of the disease and of brave volunteers . . . Quotations from the doctors letters and later accounts by other participants gives the story an immediacy heightened by conversational writing full of questions and cliffhangers . . . powerful exploration of a disease that killed 100,000 U.S. citizens in the 1800s."—"Kirkus Reviews""