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
1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic authorized. After an extensive debate in the newspapers, the State Assembly denied the petition. The recurrences of yellow fever kept discussions about causes, treatment and prevention going until the end of decade. Other major ports also had epidemics, beginning with Baltimore in 1794, New York in 1795 and 1798, and Wilmington in 1798, making yellow fever a national crisis. New York doctors finally admitted that they had had an outbreak of yellow fever in 1791 that killed more than 100 people. All the cities that suffered epidemics continued to grow rapidly. The widespread recognition that the epidemics were based along