Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-05-15
MORE DEADLY THAN BULLETS.
Disease Dangers Of the Mexican Inva-
sion Proposition.

| invasion of Mexican territory. The
| question naturally arises, What are
the disease dangers which will con-
front American soldiers in Mexico? 1t
has long since passed into truism
that in war, disease kills more than
bullets. Will this prove true in a Mex
| lean war? The increased knowledge Of
preventive medicine since the Spanish
American war has encouraged the be-
lief that the mortality from disease
will be materially lessened. To what
extent is this belief justified, and what
are the diseases from which our troops
may suffer in tropical country and
from which they should be protected?
The questions, which have probably
been in the minds Of many Of our peo
pie during the last few weeks, are an
swered in a recent issue Of the Journal
of the American Medical association.
Aside from the ordinary diseases
| which might prevail among any body
of two or three hundred thousand men,
| there are certain diseases to which
soldiers in camp and in the field are
particularly exposed. These are espe-
| cially smallpox, typhoid fever and dy-
sentery. Smallpox may be disregard
ed, as any troops sent into Mexico will
be immune from this disease through
vaccination. Typhoid fever in the past
has been the awful scourge of military
camps. The appalling experience Of
the Spanish-American war has not
been forgotten by our people; the rec
ord Of 10000 cases Of typhoid in the
army in six months produced an i'm
preston which can never be obliterat
ed. But since then progress in pre-
ventive medicine has been made, and
vaccination against typhoid Is a result.
Anti-typhoid incubation has been sub
ject to rigorous tests on large scale
in the army during the past two years,
with the result that in 1913, out of 90,-
600 men at home and abroad, there
was only a single case Of typhoid fever
among the inoculated, a record that
can we'll be regarded as triumph for
preventive medicine. 1t is believed that
the army surgeon now has a weapon
against typhoid that will make the next
war unique in this regard. Every Of
ficer and man now in the United
States army and navy is practically
safe against this disease, and each re-
cruit will be inoculated at the time he
is sworn into the service. The next
campaign in which the United States
army will participate will be a practi-
cal test of typhoid prophylaxis on a
large scale. That it will prove the
value Of incubation and will relieve
warfare Of one Of it's most horrible
accomplishments there is little doubt.
The dysenteries can be divided into
those due to bacterial invasion and
those caused by ptomains in foods.
While the water and food Of the SOL
diers will be more carefully guarded
than ever before, q certain amount Of
intestinal disorder will be inevitable. 1t
can safely be predicted however, that
the nation will be spared a repetition
Of the "embalmed beef scandals of
1898. The work Of the general staff Of
the army, the development Of depart
mental officers Of high efficiency and
the enormous amount Of publicity on
pure food that has taken place in the
lean soldiers wholesome food supply.
After the experience and warning Of
the past, the American people will hold
to a strict accountability any one re-
sponsible for supplying the army with
food materials which are not In every
way up to the standard
OF the diseases peculiar to tropical
and semi civilized countries, yellow fe-
yer, malaria, bubonlc plague, cholera
and typhus must be considered. The
brilliant work Of the last fifteen years
in demonstrating the transmission Of
malaria and yellow fever by the mos
quito has put our army and navy sur
geons and sanitarians In possession OF
all the knowledge needed to control
these diseases. The convincing dem
onstration Of the practicability Of their
control given by General Gorgas In the
canal zone has proved that malaria
and yellow fever can be controlled
completely in settled communities.
Where men are living in fixed habita-
tions, which can be screened and where
all possible breeding places of mosqui-
toes for a necessary distance can be
destroyed, the complete eradication of
;s, r~n-
mains to be seen however, what meth
ods can be developed for preventing
mosquito infection among soldiers in
the field. Mosquito nets can, Of course,
be carried, and patients in the field and
hospitals can be protected as we'll as
troops in barracks or permanent quar-
ters. But how about troops in the field,
scouting parties, pickets and outposts?
Undoubtedly American ingenuity will
devise methods to meet the needs, and
the dangers of these two diseases will
be greatly diminished, although occa-
sional cases may be unavoidable. Epi-
denies, however, will be practically
impossible.
CnOleTd, LelIB DOlilt tlllOu6h "atSi,
milk, flies or human carriers, can be
prevented only through cleanliness
and by maintaining the purity of wa
ter supplies. 1t is not today partic-
ularly dangerous possibility, as it can
enter Mexico only by way Of the sea-
ports, most Of which, in case Of cam
paign, would soon be in the hands Of
the navy and under quarantine regula-
tions. Regarding typhus fever, it is a
strange coincidence that the work Of
Ricketts,, by which he demonstrated, at
the loss of his own life, that the body
louise is the carrier Of this disease, was
done at Mexico City, where he went to
carry on his investigations on account
of the prevalence of typhus among the
lower-class Mexicans. This disease,
which in past centuries caused enor-
nous loss of life in camps and on
shipboard is limited in it's danger and
can easily be prevented by avoiding
dirty dwellings, and contact with dirty
individuals There is as yet no known
method of prevention except the avoid