History of yellow fever 1,235 fatalities were recorded of an estimated 12,000 cases. Smaller outbreaks occurred in Saint-Nazaire in France, Swansea in Wales, and in other European port cities following the arrival of vessels carrying the mosquito vector. The first mention of the disease by the name "yellow fever" occurred in 1744. Many famous people, mostly during the 18th through the 20th centuries, contracted and then recovered from, or died of, yellow fever. The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 struck during the summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the highest fatalities in the United States were recorded. The disease probably was brought by refugees and
Yellow Fever Commission Yellow Fever Commission The Yellow Fever Commission was a research team of the United States Army which researched treatment for yellow fever. The research process itself became a focus of study for later generations. A United States nurse named Clara Maass and two Spanish immigrants were among those who died as a result of their research participation. Researchers mark the research of the Yellow Fever Commission as the origin of the model of modern consent in medical research. The 1934 play "Yellow Jack" told the story of Walter Reed in the Yellow Fever Commission. That play was the basis of