Home American Experience Season 19 Episode 5

The Great Fever

American Experience · Season 19 · Episode 5
The history of yellow fever, and how it was determined that the disease was transmitted by mosquitoes. Included: the work of Carlos Finlay, the Cuban physician who found the link to the insects; how Finlay's theory influenced Jesse Lazear and James Carroll, scientists who were part of Walter Reed's team after Reed was sent by the U.S. to Havana to find the cause of the disease when American troops were sent to Cuba following the Spanish-American War.

Episode Details

Air date, runtime, timezone, and episode position.

Season
19
Episode
5
Air Date
30/Oct/2006
Air Time
20:00
Runtime
55 min

Overview

Episode summary.

The history of yellow fever, and how it was determined that the disease was transmitted by mosquitoes. Included: the work of Carlos Finlay, the Cuban physician who found the link to the insects; how Finlay's theory influenced Jesse Lazear and James Carroll, scientists who were part of Walter Reed's team after Reed was sent by the U.S. to Havana to find the cause of the disease when American troops were sent to Cuba following the Spanish-American War.

Episode Navigation

Move between previous and next episodes.