Crop diversity are all susceptible to a single fungus, "Fusarium oxysporum" (Panama disease); large areas of the crop were destroyed by the fungus in the 1950s. 'Gros Michel' has been replaced by the current main banana on the market, the 'Cavendish', which in turn is (2015) at risk of total loss to a strain of the same fungus, 'Tropical Race 4'. Such threats can be countered by strategies such as planting multi-line cultivars and cultivar mixes, in the hope that some of the cultivars will be resistant to any individual outbreak of disease. The implications of crop diversity are at both local
Panama Canal Railway the Caribbean islands, and also included some African slaves. Many of these workers had come to Panama to seek their fortune and had arrived with little or no identification. Many died with no known next of kin, nor permanent address, nor even a known surname. Disease and exhaustion took a heavy toll on workers. The medical community did not learn about the connection between mosquitoes and malaria for another 40 years, and had no effective ways to prevent transmission of the disease. The Panama Canal Railroad Company sold the corpses of workers to medical schools abroad, using the income to