Doctor and Medicine Day in Latin America

December 3 is celebrated as Doctors' Day in Latin America, in commemoration of Dr. Carlos Finlay, who confirmed the theory of the spread of yellow fever through the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

This date was consecrated by the Pan American Congress of Medicine held in Dallas, United States, in 1933, coinciding with the centennial of Dr. Carlos Finlay's birth (December 3, 1833). The Cuban-born doctor was the one who confirmed the theory of the spread of yellow fever through the mosquito (Aedes aegypti) in a presentation made at the Academy of Sciences in Havana on August 14, 1881.

After endorsing the hypothesis, Finlay opened new possibilities for medical progress in tropical America, prevented thousands of deaths in Latin America and facilitated the evolution of the construction of the Panama Canal, since many workers died from this disease. In Argentine, this day is celebrated as an initiative of the Medical College of Córdoba, endorsed by the Argentine Medical Confederation, and made official by government decree in 1956.