Existing comment:
Disease:
More than 400,000 soldiers from both sides died from disease during the war, almost twice as many as were killed in action. Open latrines, unclean water, stifling tents and rotting foods turned crowded camps into breeding grounds for sickness. Dysentery, known as "the runs" or "bloody flux," ravaged both armies, and even common childhood diseases like chickenpox, measles, and mumps became deadly in the unsanitary conditions. Infections such as osteomyelitis and gangrene proliferated in hospitals. |