Epidemics have plagued the world from time to time. Even from the beginning of the colonies in America to today with the big Ebola scare. We keep fighting them, and saving the population. But in 1793 the epidemic that hit Philadelphia filled the people with hysteria. The epidemic that hit Philadelphia in 1793 was yellow fever. Yellow fever is a viral infection that is transmitted to humans from a specific mosquito. The infection occurs in two phases. The first phase contains symptoms that are similar to what you get when you have the flu. They are chills, fever, muscle aches, little to no appetite and headaches. The second phase is where it turned deadly for those in Philadelphia. It is called the toxic phase. The symptoms of the second phase …show more content…
He then thought blood letting would help. Blood letting is defined as the surgical removal of a patients blood for therapeutical reasons (The Free Dictionary) He thought that he was removing the bad blood that had the virus in it. He wrote down in his account of yellow fever that “I purged him plentifully with salts and cream of tartar, and took ten or twelve ounces of blood from him arms. His symptoms appear to yield.” (Rush, Benjamin pg.8) Another reason he really thought this worked was because he became infected with yellow fever himself. He had a colleague preform bloodletting on him and got better. Doctor Benjamin Rush was considered a hero and thought to have found a cure for yellow fever. (Gum) As a result of the illness flooding the city, many people fled to different states to avoid getting sick. George Washington, his Cabinet and Congress fled from Philadelphia in order to not get Yellow fever. There were few who stayed in Philadelphia. You stayed because you were infected or were willing to help out. Dr. Rush realized that many blacks didn’t not get yellow fever and asked free blacks to help out and take care of their neighbors. The Free African Society helped out with in many ways, by being nurses, help in sanitation and then burying the dead. (“Africans In America Part