Getting to Know
Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Directions:
You have 4 tasks to complete before we start to read Fever
1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Use the resources
provided to complete each task.
Name __________________________________________
Period _____
Teacher ____________________
Room _____
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Task #1: Read the following article from World Book about yellow fever
and answer the questions that follow.
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a disease carried by mosquitoes. Yellow fever is caused by a
virus. The virus damages many body tissues, but especially the liver. As a
result of this damage, the liver cannot function properly. Yellow bile pigments
build up in the skin. These pigments make the skin look yellow, a condition
called jaundice. The build-up of yellow pigments gives the disease its name.
Today, yellow fever occurs only in tropical areas of Africa and South America.
In the past, however, the disease was more widespread. It occurred in Europe,
the Caribbean, Central America, and North America.
In the wild, yellow fever is transmitted in what is known as a jungle cycle of
infection. The cycle involves monkeys and various species of mosquitoes.
People may become infected when they live or work in jungle areas and are
bitten by infected mosquitoes. Infected people may then take the virus to urban
areas. Mosquitoes of the species Aedes aegypti transmit the virus from person
to person in an urban cycle of infection. This mosquito species prefers urban
environments. The urban cycle is uncommon in South America due to
mosquito control measures. Today, urban yellow fever occurs only in Africa.
Symptoms of yellow fever typically appear three to six days after a bite from an
infected mosquito. Symptoms include a sudden fever, headache, muscle pain,
backache, weakness, nausea, and vomiting. Most patients have only a mild
case of the disease and quickly recover. During this time, however, they have
the virus in their blood. They can spread the virus to mosquitoes, which can
then transmit it to other people. Some patients experience a short period when
symptoms disappear followed by a second phase of illness called the toxic
phase. Symptoms of the toxic phase include high fever, vomiting, jaundice,
bleeding, and coma. About 20 to 50 percent of these patients die within 10
days. Patients who recover are then immune to the disease.
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Mosquito control measures have eliminated yellow fever in many urban areas
of South America and Africa. Yellow fever can be prevented by a vaccine, called
17D. The vaccine was developed in 1937 by Max Theiler, a South African
research physician. In 1951, Theiler was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine
for the development of this vaccine. Vaccination with 17D provides immunity
from yellow fever for at least 10 years. The World Health Organization (WHO)
recommends that people get an additional booster dose of the vaccine after 10
years.
Physicians do not recommend the vaccine for certain people. They include
children less than 9 months of age, pregnant women, and people with
weakened immune systems. A small number of people have developed vaccineassociated neurotropic disease after receiving yellow fever vaccine. This serious
disease affects the brain and can be fatal. Most cases have occurred among
children under 6 months of age who received the vaccine.
The conquest of yellow fever was one of the great achievements of modern
medicine. In 1881, Carlos Finlay, a Cuban physician, suggested that a
mosquito transmitted the disease. A United States Army physician, William
Gorgas, developed mosquito control measures. His measures eliminated the
disease as a major health menace in the Panama Canal Zone. Walter Reed, a
U.S. Army doctor, proved that yellow fever was carried by a mosquito. Reed
suggested that the cause was a microorganism. In 1927, three research
physicians proved that the microorganism was a virus.
Answer the following questions about yellow fever using text-based details
from the article you just read.
1) What insect spread the yellow fever virus? ____________________________
2) What bodily organ is most affected by yellow fever? How?
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3) What are the symptoms of yellow fever?
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4) What percentage of people die within 10 days of the toxic phase of yellow
fever? _________________________________________________________________
5) True or False. Yellow fever can be prevented with the 17D vaccine.
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Task #2: Read the following article from the PBS website about the 1793
yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia and answer the questions that
follow.
Yellow Fever Epidemic
Philadelphia's yellow fever epidemic of 1793 was the largest in the history of
the United States, claiming the lives of nearly 4000 people. In late summer, as
the number of deaths began to climb, 20,000 citizens fled to the countryside,
including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other members of the
federal government (at that time headquartered in Philadelphia).
At the urging of Benjamin Rush, the support of Philadelphia's free black
community was enlisted by Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, and William Gray, a
fruit seller who along with Allen and Jones had secured support to build the
African Church the previous year.
In an effort to prove themselves morally superior to those who reviled them,
Philadelphia's black community put aside their resentment and dedicated
themselves to working with the sick and dying in all capacities, including as
nurses, cart drivers, and grave diggers. Despite Rush's belief that blacks could
not contract the disease, 240 of them died of the fever.
As the weather cooled, the disease subsided, and the deaths stopped. Then
accusations began against the black citizens who had worked so hard to save
the sick and dying. The attack was led by Mathew Carey, whose pamphlet
attacked many in the black community. A response to the pamphlet was
published by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones.
Benjamin Rush
Absalom Jones
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Richard Allen
Answer the following questions about yellow fever epidemic using textbased details from the article you just read.
1) True or False. Philadelphia's yellow fever epidemic of 1793 was the
largest in the history of the United States. _____________________________
2) How many people died from the yellow fever epidemic of 1793? How
many people fled the city of Philadelphia to the countryside?
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3) What jobs did the black community dedicate themselves to during the
epidemic?
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4) When did the disease subside (decrease, diminish, lessen) and death rate
stop? In your opinion, what caused yellow fever virus to stop spreading?
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Task #3: Use the chart on the page 6, Yellow Fever Mortality by Street,
1793 AND the map of Philadelphia on page 7 to answer the following
questions.
1) How many streets are listed on the Yellow Fever Mortality by Street, 1793
chart? ___________________________
2) What street had the highest total population? __________________________
3) What percentage of people died of yellow fever on Water Street? _________
4) What percentage of people died of yellow fever on Ninth Street? _________
5) Mortality means death. What street had the highest mortality rate?
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6) What river borders the city of Philadelphia on the east?
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7) What street runs the closet perpendicularly to the Delaware River?
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8) How many white residents fled from Third Street? How many black
residents fled from Third Street?
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9) What street had the least amount of residents die? _____________________
10)
Why do you think more people died on Water Street than any other
street? ________________________________________________________________
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11)
What is the total number of people who died from yellow fever
according to the Yellow Fever Mortality by Street, 1793 chart?
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12)
The main character in the novel lives in the city of Philadelphia.
Where do you think it would be most dangerous for her to live? Why?
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Task #4: Watch the video about author Laurie Halse Anderson and answer
the questions that follow.
Laurie Halse Anderson
A Bumpy Start
1) What type of poems did Laurie Halse Anderson like to write in second
grade? Why?
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Revulsions and Revisions
2) Why did Laurie Halse Anderson decide to write about the yellow fever
epidemic of 1793?
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3) What happened when the author read part of Fever 1793 to her
daughter’s fifth grade class?
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Digging Up the Facts
4) What disturbing/interesting fact did Laurie Halse Anderson uncover
while researching Fever 1793? Where did she find this information?
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