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After scientists confirmed that mosquitoes can transmit yellow fever and other diseases, mosquito control emerged as an important public health measure. Discover how Americans have managed mosquitoes at home and abroad through this selection of items from the NLM collection.

Portrait of a white man in profile

Dr. Carlos J. Finlay poses for a portrait, ca. 1902

Courtesy National Library of Medicine

Dr. Carlos J. Finlay, a Cuban physician, first proposed a link between mosquitoes and the transmission of yellow fever in 1881. His research informed the work of the US Army’s Yellow Fever Commission two decades later.