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[[File:yellowfevermound.jpg|thumbnail|350px|left|Memorial to Louisiana yellow fever victims buried in a mass grave.]]
African men and women possessed a higher immunity to mosquito-borne illnesses than whites due to exposure over time. Trafficking slaves into the United States exposed Anglo-Americans to infected mosquitoes that were transported along with slaves on filthy, wooden ships. Africans living in the West Indies proved resistant to these types of illnesses, especially yellow fever, as in evident in statistics reported from St. James, Jamaica between 1817 and 1820 showing that the largest number of Africans died of “old age”.<ref>B.W. Higman, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AEVJQCS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AEVJQCS&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=c80097538a181200eaf41eaf4dde018b Slave Population and Economy in Jamaica, 1807-1834]'' (University of the Indies Press, 1995), 112.</ref>Dealing directly with pirated slaves and the surrounding unsanitary conditions put Bowie at a higher risk of coming into contact with an infected mosquito; the only way in which one can contract yellow fever.<ref>CDC, " Yellow Fever” http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/yellowfever/YF_Transmission.html (accessed May 1, 2010).</ref>Consequentially, Jim Bowie participated in and enabled the onset of one potential cause of his illness.
Until October 1833, Bowie's life continued unabated, but tragedy struck. While in Natchez he learned the news that his wife had passed away due to cholera. This occurred just days after he himself recovered from a bout with yellow fever.<ref>Davis, 361-362.</ref> According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), once having recovered from yellow fever one is usually protected against subsequent infection. This, however, is under ideal circumstances wherein the individual is in optimal physical condition. Alcohol and malnutrition impede the immunity process.<ref>Valerie Carter, RN, BSN, MSN, interview by author, Phoenix, Arizona, April 15, 2010. It has been historically documented that Bowie consumed a great deal of alcohol. Also, malnutrition must be distinguished from under-nutrition in that an individual may be consuming substantial calories that lack nutritional value.</ref> Bowie was not only complicit in transporting infected mosquitoes into North America, he also counteracted his own recovery with his lifestyle choices.
