Aegypti mosquitoes which carried the virus person to person.
James Carroll, who also served on the yellow fever commission board argued the mosquito theory and proposed that volunteers must be exposed to the mosquitoes to prove the contraction. Carroll and Jesse William Lazear, another commission members, subjected themselves to the bite of the infected mosquitoes to test the theory proposed. Unfortunately, Lazear died but Carroll recovered and was able to finish a series of experiments. “They made a convincing demonstration of yellow fever transmission to human volunteers by the bite of infected Aedes aegypti. The control of the demonstrated vector brought yellow fever under control in the major port cities of the Old World and New World.It was thought, in the early decades of the twentieth century, that the disease could be vanquished” (Downs, 1982).
“Dr. Finlay, a Cuban who had been a member of the auxiliary Yellow Fever Commission, unfortunately made his demonstration in an era when many erroneous theories were strongly entrenched, and for years he was called the ‘mosquito maniac.’ During those years Matas alone supported Finaly’s hypothesis-which, of course, was correct as we know now” (Corndell, 1985).
Portal of Entry
Yellow fever virus is an RNA virus that belongs to the genus Flavivirus. It is related to West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, and Japanese encephalitis viruses. Yellow fever virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of infected Aedes or Haemagogus species mosquitoes.
Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito originated in AFrica but can be found in tropical, temperate regions globally. Besides yellow fever, this mosquito is the vector for a majority of tropical fevers. Only female mosquitoes bites for blood, which is required for her eggs to mature. The lifespan of the Aedes is fairly short, lasting roughly two to four weeks. However, depending on the environment in which eggs were laid, they can remain viable for over a year. In the United States, the Aedes aegypti can be found throughout the southeast region but they are slowly declining due to competition with other mosquitoes.
Transmission
“Yellow fever virus has three transmission cycles: jungle (sylvatic)
