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After scientists confirmed that mosquitoes can transmit yellow fever and other diseases, mosquito control emerged as an important public health measure. Discover how Americans have managed mosquitoes at home and abroad through this selection of items from the NLM collection.

A page of text in a book

A Few General Directions with Regard to Destroying Mosquitoes, Particularly the Yellow-Fever Mosquito, 1904

Courtesy National Library of Medicine

William Gorgas, a military physician and chief sanitation officer during construction of the Panama Canal (1904–1914), wrote these guidelines during the time when he oversaw successful anti-mosquito campaigns in Panama.