Yellow Fever and Malaria in the Panama Canal

Yellow Fever and Malaria in the Panama Canal

  • Submitted By: ng47
  • Date Submitted: 04/07/2011 8:47 PM
  • Category: History Other
  • Words: 850
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 544

During the making of the Panama Canal there were many problems causing set backs to the canal’s completion. Through the process there had been certain cases of sickness. Malaria and yellow fever were severe sicknesses that were going around at the time. These diseases put an impact on the creation of the Panama Canal in an abominable way.
Malaria and yellow fever was not new to the area of the Isthmus. In previous years, these diseases had been known to spread around in this area. For instance, in the 1850’s hundreds of men died from disease. Most of this was due to malaria. Along with that, many People were affected by melancholia. Melancholia is an aftereffect of malaria. People affected by this would commit suicide by hanging themselves, drowning, or impaling themselves (37). This was only of many appearances of disease throughout the Isthmus. With this in mind, workers in the late 1800’s were at risk while working on the Panama Canal. These diseases could cause a decrease in workers as well as slowing down the process of the creation of the Panama Canal.
By the summer of 1881, yellow fever had hit the Isthmus once again. In June of 1881, the first canal employee had died of yellow fever (137). After that more and more people started to become infected with the disease and more deaths would be reported. Important engineers such as Henri Bionne died in that summer as well. Bionne was sent over by the French to inspect the work of the Panama Canal. On July 28th, he died of yellow fever (138). Bionne had thought that the United States was in shape for great success and on his way to inform his native land of that information, he died, leaving the French skeptical on the working conditions of this project and how successful it may or may not be.
Yellow fever and malaria killed a lot of workers during the making of the Panama Canal. With all of these workers dying it created a huge set back on the completion of the Panama Canal. Because of the lack of...

Similar Essays