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The War Against Microbes....
Prior to the twentieth century, disease was the major wartime killer. In the Civil War, two soldiers died from disease for every one killed in action. In the Spanish-American War, the rate was an astounding seven to one. Poor camp sanitation and ignorance of how germs were transmitted contributed to the incidence of epidemics. With American military commitments to tropical areas increasing and with the construction of the Panama Canal underway, the U.S. Army became involved in disease research, investigating the biological causes of dysentery, malaria, and typhoid fever.
The Army created special boards to study tropical diseases. Army doctor Walter Reed demonstrated the mosquitoes spread yellow fever. The adoption of simple camp sanitation and anti-mosquito measures eventually saved countless lives. |