On the Fringe of the Great Fight

E BRITISH

e soldiers are always associated with the civilian population, it means that such diseases are readily communicated from the army to the civilians, and from the civilians to the army. It is therefore apparent tha

of epidemic disease in the army to-day. This is particularly striking in view of our experiences in other recent wars. In the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, for instance, smallpox was fanned into a great flame, and there resulted the largest smallpox e

yphoid fever alone were 8,000 against 7,700

practically a negligible quantity, and this holds with other communicable diseases. There must be some basi

he provision of an adequate and wholesome food supply; proper clothing; amusements, such as games, competitions, horse shows, cine

he prevention of disease in use in the British army in France,-prin

e of Europe, the vast majority of communicable diseases of importance

nose secretions; e.g.,

sects; e.g., malaria, t

secretions; e.g., typhoid fe

a, colds, pneumonia, scarlet fever, diphtheria, etc., is conveyed in most cases by one infected person transmitting

isease-producing organism is introduced into the body of the healthy person, and beginning to multiply, brings about the symptoms of the disease. Malaria is

ho has the disease or who has had it, has been taken into the mouth and swallowed, and the germs finding a favorable medium in the intestines have multiplied and produced the typical symptoms. One of the chief ways in which this type of infection occurs is through drinking sewage-con

ck. Put briefly, it means that the sanitary organization must be such that the germs from one infected soldier are prevented from reaching

nks are simple; the carrying out of th

edical officers must always be on the alert and carry out the instructions of the director of medical services of the army with despatch. In the British Army this is one of the most important features in the control of epidemics. If a man is suspected of having any communicable disease he is instantly p

scarlet fever which cannot be diagnosed by bacteriological methods, but of c

l as in every other way. Efforts had been made for years to remove typhoid carriers from the regular army, and naturally no soldier was sent into the field who was known to have typhoid,

and expanded into a huge force it was thoroughly equipped not only with the necessary apparatus for caring for sick and wounded, but also with the experience acquired by those already in the field. In this way the British Army differed from all of

gainst two of the most dreaded diseases, smallpox and typhoid fever, and that every reinforcement subsequently sent out had been carefully freed from suspicious cases of disease, it can be rea

municable diseases from the French civilian population, and it is obvious that as there were from 3 to

y would be susceptible to disease such as cholera, dysentery

excreting disease germs, additional means must be adopted to destroy such germs before they could reach other soldiers. This is the place wh

reta or render it incapable of contaminating water or food. This is done. All excreta behind the front line and reserve trenches is destroyed in numerous incinerators, which are k

terilize all water used for drinking purposes, either by boiling, by the use of bisulphate of soda, or by chlorin

lorite of lime was added to the water, the amount necessary for any given water being determined by a solution of potassium iodide and starch. This was particularly useful in the trenches where it was possible to accurate

spoonfuls of the dry chloride of lime to the partly filled water cart, the mixing being done by the additi

the field, were built and issued to all the British armies. These mobile filters are capable of filtering and sterilizing large quantities of water and delive

egetables, so that there is little danger from these sources. When ones sees the peasan

ng down flies is to destroy their breeding places, and therefore it is the duty of everybody concerned to see that all manure piles in the army area are gotten rid of. Some of it is burned, some spread on the fields, some buried, and so forth. On the other hand food is screened from flie

on of breeding places of flies, sterilization of drinking water, boiling of milk and vegetables, and in the case of typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, i

n population in the little village of Vlamertinge and neighborhood was being devastated with typhoid fever, and the French troops also had a great many cases. When the British troops took over t

laboratory in the area, of any doubtful cases, and the diagnosis was then made by laboratory methods. In the last six months of my stay in France, near the Belgian border, I do not think that the Friends' search party unearthed a

know, carried by flies, lice and mosquitoes. Flies carry disease germs mo

r never occurs in Europe. Malaria in France is also comparatively unknown, though we f

ected individual with the malaria parasites in his blood, and the mosquito which was capable of carrying the organisms. Yet in 1915 we

ot warm enough for the parasite to undergo its necessary transformation in the blood of the mosquito. A continuous warm period of several days' duration is necessary for this purpose, and in France thes

emoved as rapidly as diagnosed, so that mosquitoes

the recent Serbian campaign has proved a terrible scourge. It is quite a different disease from typhoid fever, and is

e commonly present is the body louse, and it lays its eggs in the seams of the uniforms and on the undercloth

or be left on the bedding, in the straw, or in the patient's discarded clothes. If these lice have bitten the typhus patient and thereby been infected, it seems to be necessary

to a greater or less extent in Germany, Austria, Russia and Serbia. The quarantine services at the p

s, and he doesn't. So that though a soldier goes back into the trenches clean and free from vermin he is sure to become reinfected from lice left in the dugouts; or some lice eggs on his clothes perhaps have escaped destruction, and he may be as lousy as ever when he comes out of the trenches again. The old straw in the barns and the billets is sure to be i

my has established bath houses. Sometimes a brewery, or part of it, has been taken over for this purpose, because the breweries all have deep wells from which a plentiful supply of water can be obtained. If the bath house is in a brewery they m

ed frequently by means of a threshing machine boiler, rented or purchased from some neighboring farmer. One section of the shack is divided off for a bath

ty men, pass into the first room where they undress. Their underclothes and shirts are thrown to one side to be washed; their caps and boots are not treated in any way. The uniforms are hung on numbered r

hrough another room they are given clean socks, underclothes and shirts, and by the time they are dressed their own uniforms, disinfected, are handed back t

nts in our area there were 160 Belgian peasant women engaged in this work. Mending is also done by th

es trouble from troops down stream who may have to use it. Horses will not touch soa

cess of chloride of lime, which precipitates the soap as a curd and carries the dirt down with it. By sedimentation, and filtration through canvas, cinders and sa

d by springs or any other auxiliary source of supply; consequently with the advent of

aundry attached to the bath house, was collected and treated with acid to remove the soap; the scum formed carried to the top all of the dirt, which was then filtered off by means of sacking, cinders, and sand. The excess of acid was treated with lim

done in a much longer time and with a much bigger plant. Had the pond been used to bathe in direct it would have be

ntly hopeless problem. It is indeed a difficult problem which a British officer will acknowledge to be hopeless, and it is th

These fleas become infected by biting the infected rats and subsequently infect human beings by biting them. There are plenty of rats in the trenches and dugouts, pa

he end of his bayonet. As Mr. Rat, attracted by the savoury odour, approaches and takes the first sniff, the trigger is pulled and there is one living rat less. Prizes are sometimes give

en for a rat to escape the British army system. Army routine, the result of many year

some of them shall be sent to the field laboratories for examination. Bubonic plague is a rat disease; consequent

on, and when a report was not forthcoming he sent a telegram to the officer commanding the Canadian laboratory asking that a report on the rat be forwarded at once. As we had not received the rat we repo

the correspondenc

D.M.S. J

/2/3, a rat is being sent from trench

A.D.M.S

No. 1 Mobil

he result of your ex

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M.S.

t receive

C. No. 1 Mo

D.M.S. J

d, will you please say wh

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D.M.S.

adian laboratory and re

D.D.M.S.

anadian) Mobi

know the result of your

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D.M.S.

dently been killed by a blow. The rep

. No. 5 (Can

ed rat was unable to e