On January 27, 1871, marked the last major yellow fever epidemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which resulted in the death of 8% of the population at that time.
Carlos J. Finlay is known as the physician who identified the primary cause of yellow fever. In 1881, he presented a paper to the Royal Academy of Medical Sciences, arguing that mosquitoes were the main transmitters of yellow fever. However, his ideas were initially ignored, leading him to conduct experiments on humans to prove his theory.
Finlay recruited 102 human volunteers and created thousands of mosquitoes to test his earlier hypothesis.
After 20 years of studying the causes of the disease and more than 2000 deaths of American soldiers during the Spanish-American War, the Yellow Fever Commission was established. It wasn’t until August 12, 1910, that Finlay was finally recognized for his discovery.
In addition to being a great scientist, Finlay was always a strong advocate for sports in Cuba.
In 1879, Scientific Propaganda published an article stating that activities like playing ball and sports such as roller skating were harmful to health in warm countries like Cuba. In response, Finlay stated, “Physical exercises in warm climates, especially baseball, are useful as long as they adhere to the principles of hygiene, whose intervention here, like everything related to health, no one has pretended to exclude.”
Finlay added that the goal of Propaganda was not to exclude sports (as they can contribute to the strengthening of the human body and mind) but to engage in them moderately to avoid negative health effects due to high temperatures, emphasizing the importance of proper hydration.
According to the same magazine, the article mentioned that Finlay had his first contact with baseball in Philadelphia and even played the sport.
In the following years, the doctor continued to write about the importance of physical activity like baseball. His most remembered piece was from June 1879, where he highlighted all the health benefits associated with playing baseball. This contributed to the sport’s increasing popularity in the years that followed on the island.
Finlay will be remembered not only for discovering the transmitter of yellow fever but also for being a trailblazer in Cuban baseball. Today, Cuba owes much of the popularity of this sport to this medical pioneer.
