Yellow Fever Commission Explained

The Yellow Fever Commission was a research team of the United States Army which researched treatment for yellow fever.

The commission was originally formed as the Reed Commission by Army Surgeon General George Sternberg in 1900.^[1] The medical research board was forged as a four member board consisting of Walter Reed, James Carroll, Jesse W. Lazear, and Aristides Agramonte. The U.S. Army research detachment was commissioned for public health surveillance regarding a tropical disease susceptible by the predatorial Aedes aegypti or an infectious mosquito in Cuba.^[2] ^[3] The mosquito-borne disease or yellow fever pathogen was found to have inflicted an elevated casualty count during the Spanish–American War.^[4]

The research process itself became a focus of study for later generations.^[5]

A United States nurse named Clara Maass and two Spanish immigrants were among those who died as a result of their research participation.^[6]

Researchers mark the research of the Yellow Fever Commission as the origin of the model of modern consent in medical research.^[7]

In popular culture

The 1934 Yellow Jack theatrical production told the story of Walter Reed in the Yellow Fever Commission. The theatre production was cast with Sam Levene, James Stewart, Eddie Acuff, and Myron McCormick.

The Broadway play was the basis of Yellow Jack, a 1938 movie presenting the same narrative.

Web site: Yellow Fever : Its Origin, Improper Treatment, Prevention and Cure : With Remarks Regarding Alive-Burials in Times of the Epidemic, and an Interesting Narrative of Facts . Shubert . Wm. Augustus . 1860 . Savannah, Georgia . J.M. Cooper . 14846240.
Web site: Yellow Fever, A Nautical Disease; Its Origin and Prevention . Gamgee . John . 1879 . Internet Archive . New York, New York . Appleton and Company . 1204751151.
Web site: Yellow Fever: Its Ship Origin and Prevention . Hargis . Robert Bell Smith . 1880 . Internet Archive . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . D.G. Brinton, M.D. . 1064196576.
Web site: Walter Reed and Yellow Fever . Kelly . Howard Atwood . 1906 . Internet Archive . Baltimore Medical Standard Book Company . 729175258.
Web site: Walter Reed and Yellow Fever . Howard Atwood Kelly . London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine . 1907 . Internet Archive . New York, New York . McClure, Phllips & Company . 970766807.
Web site: History of Yellow Fever . Augustin . George . 1909 . Internet Archive . New Orleans, Louisiana . Searcy & PFAFF, Ltd. . 14799989.

Web site: Major Walter Reed and the Eradication of Yellow Fever . Feng . Patrick . National Museum of the United States Army . 28 January 2015 . The Army Historical Foundation.
Web site: Hospital Corps detachment at Camp Columbia, Cuba . 1900 . University of Virginia Historical Collections ~ Claude Moore Health Sciences Library . Library of Virginia.
Web site: Walter Reed on shipboard en route to Cuba . 1900 . University of Virginia Historical Collections ~ Claude Moore Health Sciences Library . Library of Virginia.
Web site: U.S. ARMY Major Walter Reed . National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) . U.S. Department of Defense.
Clements. Alan N.. Harbach. Ralph E.. History of the discovery of the mode of transmission of yellow fever virus. Journal of Vector Ecology. December 2017. 42. 2. 208–222. 10.1111/jvec.12261. 29125246. 10141/622451. free. free.
Chaves-Carballo. Enrique. Clara Maass, Yellow Fever and Human Experimentation. Military Medicine. May 2013. 178. 5. 557–562. 10.7205/MILMED-D-12-00430. 23756016. free.
Güereña-Burgueño. F. The centennial of the Yellow Fever Commission and the use of informed consent in medical research.. Salud Publica de Mexico. 2002. 44. 2. 140–4. 12053781. 10.1590/s0036-36342002000200009. free.