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Terrible way to die, but smalllpox and yellow fever killed lots of people too. An interesting book to read on yellow fever is:THE AMERICAN PLAGUE by Molly Caldwell Crosby. Very interesting story of Memphis, TN and the discovery and cure of the disease.
There is no cure for yellow fever, then or now. There is only prevention both through vaccination and mosquito erradication. The mosquito vector was shown to be the way the disease was spread by Dr. Carlos Finlay, Walter Reed et al. in Cuba at the turn of the century.
Wasn't it Panama during the construction of the canal
William Gorgas was Surgeon General of the United States who expanded and implemented the pioneering work of Finlay and Reed. Gorgas controlled the critical mosquito vector by draining swamps, spraying oil on standing water , mosquito nets, etc that enabled the Panama Canal to be completed. The canal was started by the French, under the supervision of Ferdinand de lesseps, the individual who built the Suez Canal. The French expected a clean flat cut through arid land of the Sinai. They did not reckon with mosquitoes and associated illnesses of malaria and yellow fever. Teddy Roosevelt bought the French rights and because of the eradication programs of Gorgas,the Canal was completed in 1914.