How many people died in panama from malaria while building the canal?

There is a common misconception that many people died in Panama from malaria while building the canal. However, the vast majority of the lives lost during the construction of the Panama Canal were actually due to yellow fever, not malaria. It is estimated that around 25,000 workers died during the construction of the canal, and of those, only 5% were due to malaria. The other deaths were largely caused by yellow fever and other tropical diseases.