The Civil War and Infectious Diseases

When the civil war started in April 1861, people did not know anything about the infection, what was the cause of the infection? Huge injured troops brought a challenge to the naïve medical field. During the Civil War, a total of 620,000 soldiers died due to combat, starvation and illness (Civil War Facts, 2014). For each soldier who died in the battle, the other two died of the disease. The reason is that medical staff not trained, unprepared medical staff due to unsanitary and dirty condition. The medical committee approved the lack of students as it is necessary to help treat the injured.

Since the disease spread rapidly after the civil war, the government was more involved in helping the citizens. They reported cases of infectious diseases and began seeking doctors to fund health education institutions. Children's bureau and other stations were established for special reasons. Children's bureau is working on improvement of birth rate and death rate. Scientific research on diseases such as Walter Reed's typhoid fever led to a better understanding of these diseases. World War II brought social and economic driving force to the United States and thousands of victims gave way to the construction of a wartime hospital. Due to vaccination practices, there are few illnesses that bothered the US in the last century. The rise of technology has led to new concerns about technological consequences, leading to improvements in overall medicine. An example is the influence of nuclear weapons and radiation.

Infectious diseases have always been to us. However, during the past century, during the war and peacefully, they were the main cause of death. Bacterial pathology was not established until late 19th century. Viral diseases were not discovered until the 20th century. With the understanding of microorganisms, great progress has been made to suppress the spread of diseases in public health. Early vaccination against common diseases, especially smallpox has been successful, even if you do not understand the basis of diseases caused by bacteria and viruses. Especially for the typhoid and tetanus vaccine, a much better vaccine was developed in the late nineteenth century. Other diseases such as malaria and yellow fever can be controlled by identifying insect vectors and eliminating or controlling them. It can prevent malaria and can be used on a daily basis. In many ways, the conquest of infectious diseases began many years before the First World War.