<P> Ezekiel Stone Wiggins, known as the Ottawa Prophet, proposed that the cause of a yellow fever epidemic in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1888, was astronomical . </P> <P> The planets were in the same line as the sun and earth and this produced, besides Cyclones, Earthquakes, etc., a denser atmosphere holding more carbon and creating microbes . Mars had an uncommonly dense atmosphere, but its inhabitants were probably protected from the fever by their newly discovered canals, which were perhaps made to absorb carbon and prevent the disease . </P> <P> In 1848, Josiah C. Nott suggested that yellow fever was spread by insects such as moths or mosquitoes, basing his ideas on the pattern of transmission of the disease . Carlos Finlay, a Cuban doctor and scientist, proposed in 1881 that yellow fever might be transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct human contact . Since the losses from yellow fever in the Spanish--American War in the 1890s were extremely high, Army doctors began research experiments with a team led by Walter Reed, and composed of doctors James Carroll, Aristides Agramonte, and Jesse William Lazear . They successfully proved Finlay's" mosquito hypothesis". Yellow fever was the first virus shown to be transmitted by mosquitoes . The physician William Gorgas applied these insights and eradicated yellow fever from Havana . He also campaigned against yellow fever during the construction of the Panama Canal . A previous effort of canal building by the French had failed (in part due to mortality from the high incidence of yellow fever and malaria, which killed many workers). </P> <P> Although Dr. Walter Reed has received much of the credit in United States history books for "beating" yellow fever, he had fully credited Dr. Finlay with the discovery of the yellow fever vector, and how it might be controlled . Reed often cited Finlay's papers in his own articles, and also credited him for the discovery in his personal correspondence . The acceptance of Finlay's work was one of the most important and far - reaching effects of the Walter Reed Commission of 1900 . Applying methods first suggested by Finlay, the United States government and Army eradicated yellow fever in Cuba and later in Panama, allowing completion of the Panama Canal . While Reed built on the research of Finlay, historian François Delaporte notes that yellow fever research was a contentious issue . Scientists, including Finlay and Reed, became successful by building on the work of less prominent scientists, without always giving them the credit they were due . Reed's research was essential in the fight against yellow fever . He is also credited for using the first type of medical consent form during his experiments in Cuba, an attempt to ensure that participants knew they were taking a risk by being part of testing . </P>

Who found the real cause of yellow fever