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Article: A possible connection between the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in the southern United States and the 1877-78 El Nino episode
- Article from:
- Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
- Article date:
- January 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright American Meteorological Society Jan 1999. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT
One of the most severe outbreaks of yellow fever, a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, affected the southern United States in the summer of 1878. The economic and human toll was enormous, and the city of Memphis, Tennessee, was one of the most affected. The authors suggest that as a consequence of one of the strongest El Nino episodes on record-that which occurred in 1877-78-exceptional climate anomalies occurred in the United States (as well as in many other parts of the world), which may have been partly responsible for the widespread nature and severity of the 1878 yellow fever outbreak.
This study documents some of the extreme climate anomalies that were ...