Walter Reed Pioneer in Mdicine Author:Lynn Groh The doctors said young Walter Reed's mother died because of vapors that leadek from the earth. Years later, as an Army doctor, Reed became interested in a new theory that diseases were caused by bacteria, or germs, and he took up the study of bacteriology. When the Spanish-American War brought a raging ever to Army camps, Reed diagnosed it as ty... more »phoid, and his discovery of how the bacteria spread brought the epidemic to a halt.« less