The Myth of Innate Racial Differences Between White and Black People's Bodies: Lessons From the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In this commentary, I take up the question of why beliefs in fundamental, innate racial differences between Black and White people's bodies persist in medical discourse, despite evidence to the contrary.I locate the origin of some of these beliefs in the infamous yellow fever epidemic that struck Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1793. During that early public health crisis, White physicians and lay people erroneously thought that Black people were immune to yellow fever because of their race. I then highlight the efforts of Philadelphia's Black leaders during the epidemic-namely Absalom Jones and Richard Allen-to challenge the belief in fundamental and innate differences between Blacks and Whites.I conclude by asking us to consider how the false belief that there is something peculiar about Black people's bodies has become a feature, not an aberration, in the production of medical knowledge. Indeed, I point out how medical experimentation in the 20th century and in the marketing of new drugs in the 21st century have been buttressed by this persistent yet incorrect assumption that innate racial differences exist.

[The origins of the Pavilion Lazaretto: quarantine architecture between the 18th and 19th centuries]. / Los orígenes del Lazareto Pabellonario: la arquitectura cuarentenaria en el cambio del setecientos al ochocientos.

The model of pavilion lazaretto was built above the scientific basis established during the hospital reform process held in France on the lasts decades of the eighteenth century. The morphological solutions adopted for the new quarantine taxonomy has not been given by the example borrowed by the new typology of hospital as resulted in this discussion, but by existing quarantine and detention facilities in general. In this paper we will analyse all factors that have influenced in the configuration of this model of lazarettos.

Re-emergence of yellow fever in Senegal in 1995.

An outbreak of yellow fever (YF) occurred in the central part of Senegal during October 1995. Thirty-one probable cases were detected and 79 cases were confirmed either by IgM ELISA or by virus isolation (30 strains isolated). The case fatality rate was 18.9%. Incidence of the infection was evaluated by a serosurvey in the area. Males 10-29 years old belonging to the Peul ethnic group were more affected. Moreover, 28 YF virus strains were isolated from mosquitoes and larvae pools and vertical transmission of YF virus by Aedes aegypti was also demonstrated for the first time in the field. This outbreak occurred after the major amplification of the wild cycle of YF virus in 1993 in West Africa. This epidemic represented a typical example of intermediate transmission of YF: both humans and wild vertebrates are involved in the virus cycle through wild mosquitoes with semidomestic habits, mainly Ae. furcifer, Ae. luteocephalus, and domestic vector Ae. aegypti. It was controlled by a prompt immunization campaign. The impact of inclusion of YF vaccine in the Expanded Program of Immunization, which has been conducted in Senegal for eight years, is discussed.