Yellow Fever Vocabulary Worksheet
EPIDEMIOLOGY & HISTORY Unit Study: Disease & Society
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Yellow Fever: Vocabulary & Case Study
Explore key scientific and historical terminology through the lens of the 1793 Philadelphia epidemic.
Part 1 & 2 Terminology & Word Study
Historical Summary: The Saffron Scourge of 1793
In the late summer of 1793, the American capital of Philadelphia was struck by a devastating epidemic of yellow fever. Caused by a flavivirus and characterized by severe fever, liver failure leading to jaundice (a yellowish pigmentation of the skin and eyes), and gastrointestinal hemorrhaging, the disease claimed over 5,000 lives in three months. At the time, medical practitioners believed in the miasma theory—the false conviction that toxic vapors arising from decaying dockside matter poisoned the atmosphere.
City leaders imposed strict quarantines and flight ensued as thousands fled. It was not until more than a century later, through the research of Dr. Carlos Finlay and Dr. Walter Reed, that scientists identified the female Aedes aegypti mosquito as the biological vector, dismantling centuries of myth and establishing modern epidemiological control.
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Key Terminology Matching
Match each term from the word bank to its correct definition
WORD BANK: Vector Jaundice Miasma Epidemic Quarantine Immunity
A. An organism (such as a mosquito or tick) that transmits an infectious pathogen from one host to another.
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B. Yellowish staining of the skin, sclera, and tissues caused by excessive bilirubin buildup during liver damage.
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C. A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a specific point in time.
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D. The obsolete medical theory that diseases were generated by foul-smelling airborne emanations from rotting matter.
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E. The state of biological resistance against an infection through past exposure, antibodies, or vaccination.
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F. Strict isolation imposed on persons, vessels, or goods arriving from infected ports to limit contagion spread.
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Etymology & Word Anatomy
Analyze the root words to explain how meaning evolved
Jaundice • French jaune (yellow)
Why did 18th-century physicians use this physical description rather than a viral or microscopic term?
Vector • Latin vehere (to carry/bear)
In epidemiology, why is it vital to distinguish between the pathogen and its vector?
Yellow Fever Vocabulary & Summary Guide Page 1 of 2
Yellow Fever: Practice in Context & Synthesis
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Part 3, 4 & 5
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Applying Words in Historical Context
Complete each primary-source style sentence with the correct term
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When refugee ships from Saint-Domingue arrived along the Delaware River docks, port inspectors ordered an immediate to prevent sailors suspected of harboring infection from entering the town.
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Prominent physician Dr. Benjamin Rush insisted that unwholesome rising from a shipment of spoiled coffee on the wharf was the direct atmospheric source of the disease.
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Relatives watching over the afflicted recognized the onset of acute liver failure when telltale tinted the patient's eyes and skin a distinct golden hue.
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Because Philadelphia had never experienced such a concentrated , civil authority fractured as nearly twenty thousand terrified citizens fled the city.
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It took more than a century of rigorous scientific inquiry to prove that the mosquito was the active rather than ordinary person-to-person contact.
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Historical vs. Modern Epidemiology
Contrast the two competing medical explanations
1793 Medical Understanding
Physicians debated whether yellow fever was an imported contagion spread person-to-person or locally generated by foul air (miasma). Treatments included bloodletting and violent purges with mercury.
Modern Scientific Understanding
Yellow fever is a viral pathogen transmitted exclusively through mosquito bites. Prevention relies on mosquito abatement, eradication of stagnant water, and the highly effective 17D vaccine.
Analysis Question: Why did the first frost in November 1793 abruptly end the epidemic, and how did each side interpret this event?
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Summary Writing Prompt
Use ≥ 3 Vocabulary Terms
Prompt: Write a concise 4–5 sentence summary detailing how the yellow fever crisis unfolded in 1793 Philadelphia, why misconceptions hindered the response, and how scientific discovery transformed our understanding. Underline each vocabulary term you include.
Yellow Fever Vocabulary & Summary Guide Page 2 of 2
