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Despite the heroic efforts of Pensacola physicians who risked and sometimes lost their lives treating yellow fever, several factors made control of yellow fever difficultcould do little more than diagnose the disease. Prior to the early 1900s, it There was not generally understood that yellow fever was transmitted not by person-to-person contactno effective treatment. Even today, but by mosquitoestreatment is symptomatic and supportive only. The first scientific evidence that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes was obtained by Cuban physician and scientist [[Wikipedia:Carlos Finlay|Carlos Finlay]] in 1881, but his research vaccine was not generally accepted developed until a team lead by [[Wikipedia:Walter Reed|Walter Reed]] reached the same conclusion in 19011937.

There Prior to the early 1900s, it was no effective treatment for not generally understood that yellow fever. Even todayis transmitted not by person-to-person contact, treatment in symptomatic and supportive onlybut by mosquitoes. The first vaccine scientific evidence that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes was obtained by Cuban physician and scientist [[Wikipedia:Carlos Finlay|Carlos Finlay]] in 1881, but his research was not developed generally accepted until 1937a team lead by [[Wikipedia:Walter Reed|Walter Reed]] reached the same conclusion in 1901. After the epidemic of 1905, the swamps around Pensacola were drained, resulting in the eradication of yellow fever in the area.<ref name="bigler">[http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Disease_ctrl/epi/Epi_Updates/1999/eu990415.html Bigler, William J. "Florida Past: Roots of Public Health in Escambia County"]</ref>

Yellow fever epidemics struck Pensacola in the following years<ref name="choppin">Choppin, Samuel. [http://books.google.com/books?id=K3YCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA195&lpg=PA195&dq=%22yellow+fever%22+epidemic+pensacola&source=web&ots=cCcppAaviP&sig=QRrgi6QZmxcVlfP_ZyiwjqMTJ_c&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result "History of the The Importation of Yellow Fever Into the United States From, 1693 to 1878."] ''Public Health Reports and Papers, Volume IV: 190-206'', American Public Health Association. Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1880.</ref>. (This list is probably incompletemay not be complete.)

In the epidemic of 1822, most residents of the Pensacola area either fled or were killed. According to one estimate, the population was reduced from about 4000 before the epidemic to about 1400 after; a different estimate appears below. Commerce and industry were almost entirely destroyed.<ref name="bigler"/> Here are a few excerpts from eyewitness accounts of the this epidemic of 1822:<ref>"1822 Yellow Fever" http://genealogytrails.com/fla/escambia/epidemic_1822.html</ref>.

The 1874 epidemic claimed thousands killed 354 of livesPensacola's 1400 residents.In the belief that the disease was transmitted by day, victims were buried in the cemetery at night by the light of lanterns.<ref>[http://barrierislandgirl.blogspot.com/2006/10/st-michaels-cemetery-history-of.html Zemenick, D.J. "St. Michael's Cemetery - History of Pensacola"]</ref>

Commodore Melanchton B. Woolsey, commandant of the Navy Yard, correctly believed that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes, some years before this was demonstrated scientifically. "He erroneously believed, as others did also, that disease carrying mosquitoes could only fly a few feet high. So Woolsey moved into the third-story cupola. He got his meals, rum (which he claimed was a 'tonic' against the fever) and tobacco for his pipe by lowering a basket on a rope from one of the cupola's windows. One day his servant forgot the rum! Woolsey died soon thereafter."<ref>[http://benefits.military.com/misc/installations/Base_Content.jsp?id=1080 "Military.com Installation Guide"]</ref>Shortly before the epidemic began, Woolsey had received orders to transfer to a northern post, but he had chosen to remain on duty in Pensacola.<ref>[http://famousamericans.net/melanchtontaylorwoolsey/ "Virtual American Biographies"]</ref>.

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