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The Forum: Yellow fever: Man against mosquito

Discussion & Talk

Yellow Fever Virus. Credit - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Image Library.

25/02/2017 GMT

Yellow fever: Man against mosquito

BBC World Service - The Forum, Yellow fever: Man against mosquito

How we tamed one of the world's deadliest diseases, and why it's coming back

The story of yellow fever with American writer Molly Crosby, University of Virginia historian Christian McMillen, Dr. Nick Beeching from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Outbreaks of yellow fever, such as the notorious 1878 'American plague' which swept through Memphis, Tennessee, used to kill thousands in a matter of weeks.  So why was it so devastating? How did we manage to tame it in some parts of the world? And why does yellow fever still present a danger today for nearly a billion people living in tropical parts of Latin America and Africa?

Bridget Kendall discusses the history and the future of yellow fever with American writer and journalist Molly Crosby, author of The American Plague; 

history professor from the University of Virginia, Christian McMillen who has a special interest in past and present epidemics; 

and Dr. Nick Beeching who teaches clinical infectious diseases at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Photo: Yellow Fever Virus (Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Image Library)

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