Abstract
By decimating his workforce, yellow fever and malaria scuppered the attempt by Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had successfully developed the Suez Canal, to build the Panama Canal. William Gorgas, surgeon general of the US army, assisted by A J Orenstein, who later had a large influence on South African health services and was head of its medical services in World War II, enabled the USA to complete the Panama Canal in 1914 by eliminating mosquitoes. Walter Reed had made this possible in 1900 by confirming the theory of a Cuban doctor, Carlos Finlay, that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquito bites. Some of his close colleagues died after voluntary exposure to mosquito bites - the ultimate controlled trial!
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