Carlos Finlay

Carlos Finlay
Carlos Finlay
Born	(1833-12-03)December 3, 1833 Puerto Príncipe (Camagüey), Cuba
Died	August 20, 1915(1915-08-20) (aged 81) Havana, Cuba
Nationality	Cuban
Alma mater	Jefferson Medical College
Known for	Mosquito and yellow fever research

Carlos Juan Finlay (December 3, 1833 – August 20, 1915) was a Cuban physician and scientist recognized as a pioneer in the research of yellow fever.

Biography

Early life and education

Finlay was born Juan Carlos Finlay y Barres, in Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey), Cuba, of French and Scottish descent. He reversed the order of his given names to "Carlos Juan" later in his life. In 1853 he attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1855, and completed his studies in Havana and in Paris. Afterwards he settled in Havana and opened a medical practice.

Professional career

Finlay's work, carried out during the 1870s, finally came to prominence in 1900. He was the first to theorize, in 1881, that a mosquito was a carrier, now known as a disease vector, of the organism causing yellow fever: a mosquito that bites a victim of the disease could subsequently bite and thereby infect a healthy person.^[1] A year later Finlay identified a mosquito of the genus Aedes as the organism transmitting yellow fever. His theory was followed by the recommendation to control the mosquito population as a way to control the spread of the disease.

El Obelisco, Finlay's memorial in Havana

His hypothesis and exhaustive proofs were confirmed nearly twenty years later by the Walter Reed Commission of 1900. Finlay went on to become the chief health officer of Cuba from 1902 to 1909. Although Dr. Reed received much of the credit in history books for "beating" yellow fever, Reed himself credited Dr. Finlay with the discovery of the yellow fever vector, and thus how it might be controlled. Dr. Reed often cited Finlay's papers in his own articles and gave him credit for the discovery in his personal correspondence.^[2]

In the words of General Leonard Wood, a physician and U.S. military governor of Cuba in 1900: "The confirmation of Dr. Finlay's doctrine is the greatest step forward made in medical science since Jenner's discovery of the vaccination [for smallpox]."

This discovery helped William C. Gorgas reduce the incidence and prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases in Panama during the American campaign, from 1903 onwards, to construct the Panama Canal. Prior to this, about 10% of the workforce had died each year from malaria and yellow fever.

In the municipality of Marianao, now within the city of Havana, there is a monument in the shape of a syringe, honoring Dr. Finlay and usually referred to as El Obelisco (The Obelisk). Finlay was also commemorated on a 1981 Cuban stamp.^[3] A statue commemorating Dr. Finlay is located on the bayfront in Panama City, near the canal he helped make possible. The UNESCO Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology is named in his honor.

Finlay was a member of Havana's Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences. He was fluent in French, German, Spanish, and English and could read Latin. His interests were widespread and he wrote articles on subjects as varied as leprosy, cholera, gravity, and plant diseases.His main interest, however, was yellow fever, and he was the author of 40 articles on this disease. His theory that an intermediary host was responsible for the spread of the disease was treated with ridicule for years. A humane man, he often took on patients who could not afford medical care. As a result of his work, Finlay was nominated seven times for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, although he was never awarded the prize.^[4] He received the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France in 1908.

Honours

He was honoured with a Google Doodle on 3rd December 2013 on the 180th anniversary of his birth. ^[5]

Death

Finlay died from a stroke at his home in Havana, Cuba.^{[citation needed]}

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carlos Finlay.

• Healthcare of Cuba

Footnotes

References