Page:The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology-ItsFirstCentury.djvu/135

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116
ARMED FORCES INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY

Figure 44.—Dr. Aristides Agramonte, Cuban member of the Yellow Fever Board, was its only "Immune."

when he was there investigating the germicidal qualities of an "electronzone" product being offered to the Army. The personalities and capabilities of the Board which was to be created in late May were well known to its president.[1]

The senior members of the Board, Reed and Carroll, arrived in Havana on 25 June 1900, and work was undertaken immediately. Headquarters was established at Columbia Barracks in the suburban village of Quemados de Marianao, 6 miles west of Havana. Quemados, as it happened, was in the grip of an outbreak of yellow fever, with 50 cases and 12 deaths, despite an almost ideal situation from the standpoint of general sanitation.

The first work undertaken was a further investigation of the Sanarelli bacillus, making use of the wealth of yellow fever materials available in Cuba. Blood drawn from 18 yellow fever patients and autopsies performed on 11 who

  1. (1) Truby, op. cit., pp. 73-77. (2) Lamb, op. cit., p. 118. (3) Senate Document 822, 61st Congress, 3d session, p. 26 (Dr. Agramonte's statement).