Yellow fever In 1873, Shreveport, Louisiana lost 759 citizens in an 80-day period to a Yellow fever epidemic, with over 400 additional victims eventually succumbing. The total death toll from August through November was approximately 1,200, In 1878, about 20,000 people died in a widespread epidemic in the Mississippi River Valley. That year, Memphis had an unusually large amount of rain, which led to an increase in the mosquito population. The result was a huge epidemic of yellow fever. The steamship "John D. Porter" took people fleeing Memphis northward in hopes of escaping the disease, but passengers were not allowed to disembark
Yellow fever blood, hence the Spanish name for yellow fever, "vómito negro" ("black vomit"). There may also be kidney failure, hiccups, and delirium. The toxic phase is fatal in about 20% to 50% of cases, making the overall fatality rate for the disease about 3.0 to 7.5%. However, the fatality rate of those with the toxic phase of the disease may exceed 50%. Surviving the infection provides lifelong immunity, and normally no permanent organ damage results. Yellow fever is caused by the yellow fever virus, a 40– to 50--wide enveloped RNA virus, the type species and namesake of the family "Flaviviridae". It