In the late 1870s, Congress allocated funds to investigate the causes of epidemics like cholera and yellow fever, and it created the National Board of Health, making medical research an official government initiative.
A fins da década de 1870, o Congreso asignou fondos para investigar as causas de epidemias como o cólera e a febre amarela, e creu a Xunta Nacional de Saúde, facendo da investigación médica unha iniciativa oficial do goberno.