DR. DISGUSTING

DOI: 10.4324/9781003239284-12

Stubbins Ffirth was fascinated by a horrible disease called yellow fever. As a child, he witnessed the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 that killed thousands. He also saw the fever return every few summers. The victims of yellow fever suffered horrible deaths. Their bodies were racked by vomiting, their skin and eyes turned yellow, and before they died, they bled from their eyes and nose.

As a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, Ffirth began a study in 1804 on the way yellow fever was transmitted. Ffirth, along with many other scientists, hoped that a cure could be invented for the horrible disease. But first, they had to learn how people contracted yellow fever.

Doctors of that time period thought that people caught yellow fever from “bad airs.” They believed this because most of the outbreaks of yellow fever happened in the summer months when sewers and landfills smelled especially disgusting. Once a person had consumed the “bad airs” and taken ill, doctors believed that yellow fever spread quickly from one person to another.

The victims of yellow fever suffered horrible deaths. Their bodies were racked by vomiting, their skin and eyes turned yellow, and before they died, they bled from their eyes and nose.

But Ffirth believed that if yellow fever was really contagious and spread from one person to another, then the disease would not disappear in the winter months. And yellow fever was not a problem once it was cold enough for frost on the ground. Ffirth believed the first thing to research was if yellow fever was a contagious disease or not.

He set up experiments using animals as test subjects. Ffirth collected body fluids from yellow fever victims. He took saliva, blood, and vomit and fed these fluids to the animals. He also rubbed the fluids in cuts or sores on the animals and waited to see if any of the animals developed yellow fever. When none of them became ill, he concluded that either the animals were immune to yellow fever or it was not contagious.

Next Ffirth needed to conduct tests on humans. He knew that humans could get yellow fever, but he didn’t want to risk the life of another person. Ffirth decided that the best way to study the disease was to experiment on himself. He collected more vomit, blood, urine, and saliva from yellow fever patients and proceeded to run the tests.

Ffirth made incisions on his arms and rubbed the fluids in the cuts. He did not become ill. He made a vapor tent over each fluid and inhaled the air from the bodily fluids. He still didn’t get sick. Last, he had to find out if he could catch yellow fever by ingesting the fluids. So Stubbins Ffirth gave his all for science and proceeded to drink vomit, urine, and other bodily fluids from yellow fever patients. Amazingly, he did not get sick.

Ffirth decided that the best way to study the disease was to experiment on himself. He collected more vomit, blood, urine, and saliva from yellow fever patients and proceeded to run the tests.

Ffirth wrote up his findings and presented them to the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded his medical degree. Although Ffirth did conduct his experiments correctly, what he did not comprehend was the idea that yellow fever might be trans mitted by an insect. It would be almost 100 years later when Dr. Walter Reed began his famous 1901 studies on the relationship between mosquitos and yellow fever. It was not until the 1950s that a successful vaccine was invented for this disease.

MOSQUITO FEEDER

In 1900, when Dr. Walter Reed and his team of scientists were trying to figure out if mosquitos caused yellow fever, they needed a way to test their theory. Just like Stubbins Ffirth, they knew they could not risk the lives of other people, so the team experimented on themselves. They built a special tent where they could trap mosquitos infected with yellow fever. Then they went in the tent and voluntarily let the mosquitos feed on their bodies.

Three of the men became ill with yellow fever, and one man died. Reed was devastated that one of his men died during the experiment, but he was determined that his death would not be in vain. Reed continued with his work until he was able to identify the tiny parasite that caused yellow fever. It took the wort of numerous brave researchers who were willing to self-experiment to uncover the secrets of yellow fever.