The area in which the Panama Canal was to be built in 1904 was a disease-ridden, infested abyss. As had been proven some 25 years before when the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps failed to build a sea level canal after 22,000 of his laborers succumbed to yellow fever and malaria. It was essential to [V 006 / clear the isthmus region of disease].
William Gorgas, a medical officer in the US army, was given the challenging task. Soon after his arrival, he flattened jungles in the surrounding area, burned garbage and destroyed vermin. Gorgas insisted on buildings being raised off the ground and windows and doors being screened with metal mesh to prevent mosquitoes from flying in. He drained swamps, ponds, and ditches to eliminate the breeding grounds of mosquitoes. Any hole that could not be drained was covered in a film of oil to suffocate the eggs and larvae that were still incubating.
Most importantly, Gorgas improved sanitation facilities in the region, whereby decent sewage systems were installed and clean water was provided. He also built modern hospitals with isolation units especially for yellow fever and malaria, and added a hospital car to every train that was operational on the site. Additionally, ships that had arrived from infected areas outside Panama were put under strict quarantine regulations.
Within two years of Gorgas' arrival in Panama, yellow fever was completely eradicated and [L3 402 / malaria was brought under control].
