The epidemic that never was: yellow fever in Hawaii

Abstract

The Kingdom of Hawaii suffered a disastrous series of epidemics starting from the first contact with Captain Cook's crew and continuing to the present. Despite the huge volume of shipping to and through Hawaii, one plague failed to appear. Yellow Jack (yellow fever) engendered more fear in sailors of the 19th century than any other disease. By 1910 the details of transmission were well-known and Hawaii met all the requirements for an epidemic. On October 30, 1910, the first case of shipboard yellow fever arrived at Honolulu but quarantine averted the threat. On October 28, 1911, a Hawaiian man, employed as a quarantine guard, was reported to have yellow fever and efforts were initiated to control a possible epidemic. This was the only occurrence of yellow fever in Hawaii.