When it comes to Science, it easily reminds us of the giants - the likes of Newton and Einstein, Bohr and Boyle, Watson, Crick and Pasteur; these stalwarts shaped our Sciences, shaped our understanding, and laid platforms for the surges of discoveries to come ahead of their times. They succeeded because of their visions - their thinking was beyond what most of us could comprehend.

Yet, there are those names - those you probably never heard of - probably never read about - those names that were swept away by the dust of times, and yet they brought about a difference to the lives of millions of people.

One such is Dr. Jesse William Lazear. This goes back to the 1800-1900s.

Yellow fever produced devastating epidemics with extremely high mortality rates. Normal life was just impossible! It is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. Three hundred thousand people have been believed to have died in Spain owing to this plague in the 19th century (Wikipedia). It causes variable symptoms like fever, chills, bleeding into the skin, jaundice, internal hemorrhages, delirium, coma and finally death. Yellow fever is almost always severe.

Cuba was a very important hot-bed for yellow fever. The British and American troops then in Cuba were struck by this disease that later on claimed the lives of 10% of the population. The statistics were that chilling - 10% of a population were completely wiped out.

Two doctors - Carlos Finlay and Walter Reed began conducting experiments to test their hypothesis that mosquitoes were vectors in causing this viral disease. Jesse William Lazear, a doctor from Johns Hopkins participated in a commission studying yellow fever transmission. He confirmed Finlay's theory that mosquitoes transmitted the disease. But there was something else he hadn't told his colleagues...

"I rather think I am on track of the real germ" wrote Lazear to his wife from Cuba on September 8, 1900. It took just 17 days from then. He had conducted the study on himself - he had allowed himself to be bitten by yellow-fever infected mosquitoes. In course of time, he developed the classic symptoms and succumbed to them at a tender age of 34. His log book became a great source of reference for Reed's studies and finally Finlay suggested mosquito-control strategies which were immediately applied in Cuba thus helping to eliminate the disease in its entirety (in Cuba). Mosquito control, to this day, remains an important method in control of yellow fever.

"He was a splendid, brave fellow," Reed said of his young colleague, "& I lament his loss more than words can tell; but his death was not in vain- His name will live in the history of those who have benefited humanity."