DISEASE IN WAR

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 6 November 1926, Page 11

DISEASE IN WAR

TN an interesting paper read recently, before the Jubilee Congress of the Royal Sanitary Institute, Major Foulerton stated that, “taking the experience of the British Army' in wars during the 30 years preceding 1934, we lin'd that for every soldier killed by the enemy nearly five died front disease—and from preventable disease mostly.” The exact proportional figures arc:— Admissions into hospital for diseases 40.2, deaths from disease4.B; admissions into hospital for wounds 20.1. deaths from wounds 1. Typhus fever is one of the most ancient destroyers o± r armies in the field. There are those who recognise the disease in the writings of ancient Hebrew and Arab scribes; and an epidemic disease which Thucydides described amongst the Greeks is believed to have been typhus fever. The epidemic which destroyed the army of Sennachrib in its advance on Jerusalem may well have been the deadly typhus fever. The first Napoleon had to face the same destroyer of armies. After the Battle of Austcrlitz German prisoners introduced the disease amongst the French Army. Later, of 50,000 French soldiers who retreated from Moscow to the town of Vilna, 25.000 died of typhus fever. Of 36,000 French soldiers besieged in Danzig, 15,000 died from the disease. In the Turco-Russian "War of .1877-78 the death rate from typhus fever in the army of the Danube was over 17 per 1000, representing a loss of 30,000 men. The army of the Caucasus 1 had 15,000 cases, with 6500 deaths. In the European War. the mortality from typhus fever amongst the Serbians was appalling. It was estimated, that by

TOLLS IN PAST CENTURIES

the end of 1916 more than 155,000 soldiers and civilians had died of the disease. Whilst typhus fever has caused a devastating mortality when it has occurred amongst troops in the field, typhoid fever, because of its apparently inevi- ,:g table appearance in time of war, has probably had an even greater weakening effect on armies generally. In the Turco-Russian War of 1877-7 S the Russian Army had 42 cases in every 1000. The mortality represented a rate of 12 per 1000; and typhoid fever killed another 7800 men, as compared with 5000 killed by the guns. The rate was high-:^■■;! or amongst the army of the Caucasus,; f;; where 99 per 1000 were inflicted. death rate was 56 per 1000; and on this front typhoid fever killed 8900 men, as ’ compared with only 2000 men killed by guns. The British record in the Boer War was equally disturbing. Amongst an average effective strength of 265,000 men there were during the war 8000 deaths from typhoid fever out of 22,000 deaths from all diseases'. The number of men who .died from typhoid fever alone was within 600 of the total number of men who were killed on the field. The British Expeditionary Force took the field in August, 1914, protected against the danger.of typhoid infection , better beyond all Comparison than any other army. . Innoculation represented the first line of defence; purification 1 of wafer supplies i% the field the second. During the Boer War 8000 soldiers bad died of typhoid fever. After 23 months in the field with, the expeditionary forces in France only IS3 deaths from typhoid fever had occurred.