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| Title |
Anopheles: How a Tiny Mosquito Almost Thwarted the Construction of the Panama Canal
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| Type of Resource |
still image
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| Date Created |
2009-05-18
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| Digital Origin |
born digtal
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| Rights Statement |
http://digital.uwyo.edu/copyright.htm
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| Keyword (topic) |
Panama Canal
Anopheles mosquito
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| Series Title |
Undergrauate Research Day 2009
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| Creator(s) |
Smeaton, Alexander
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| Contributor(s) |
Legg, Dr. David
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| Publisher |
University of Wyoming
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| Place of publication |
Laramie, Wyoming
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| Language |
eng
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| Summary |
As people looked for a faster, safer way to ship things across the globe they began to envision a trade path through the Isthmus of Panama. However, because of Panama’s tropical location, and the presence of many swamps and lakes necessary for Anopheles to reproduce, made Panama a haven for the dreaded insect. Since it wasn’t known until 1898 that mosquitoes transmitted the disease many attempts to build trade routes across the isthmus failed, including Spanish, Scottish and French attempts. The French attempt was estimated to have lost approximately 20,000 lives alone to malaria. When it was discovered and confirmed that Anopheles mosquitoes were transmitting malaria, the United States immediately took steps to wipe out the problem through process of draining standing water near villages and houses, oiling swamps to kill mosquito larva, application of larvicides, providing workers with quinine, and placing nets over buildings to prevent further transmission. This lowered malaria rates from 11.59 cases/1000 employees in November 1906 to 1.23 in December 1909, enabling the U.S. to finish the canal.
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| Notes |
From - Undergraduate Research Day 2009 - Celebration of Research - Abstracts
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