Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-25
u. ). Soldiers Healthy
In Africa Despite
Native Diseases
Army Surgeon General
Says Preventive Methods
Keep Sick Rote Low


By the Associated Press.
Health of American troops IL
North Africa is excellent, Mai. Gen
James G. Magee said today, despit,
the prevalence OF almost every dis
ease you can think of" among tn,
native population there.
The Army Surgeon General, jus
back from a flying inspection tril
to North Africa, England, Yves
Africa and South America, said tn,
sick rate Is little more than / pc
cent. though the troops have beer
through the worst rainy season
North Africa has had In years.
Gen. Magee told press conference
that malaria and venereal disease.
were the main medical problems OF
the Army overseas.
venereal Disease Trouble.
The preventive methods adopted
by medical officers have been almost
completely successful against ma
laria, he said, but venereal disease.
cause more trouble because some
parts Of the world just refuse to
regard venereal diseases as a prob
lem"
For that reason" he said, eve
don't get the support from the
public that we do at home and II
throws much greater burden on
the medical officers.
About all we can do is to in
struct the soldier to the fullest pos
sible extent, warn him of the dam
gers, make available those facilities
that We know are helpful and work
with the professional grousp and
the socially minded groups of citi-
zens to bring pressure to bear on
the local authorities"
Typhus is constant threat, Gen.
Magee said, although there has been
none as yet among the American
troops. Every man going overseas
Is inoculated against typhus, he
explained, but even under the best
conditions no vaccine offers 100 per
cent protection"
Yanks Free of Typhus.
we know that the best OF the
typhus vaccines, which we use. re-
tard the disease and make 1t
milder," he said. But they do not
prevent the incidence Of the disease
and control of typhus depends on
cleanliness. The American soldier
doesn't have typhus because he's
clean"
The Quartermaster Corps has COM
plete delousing units and steam ster-
ilizers with the troops, Gen. Magee
said, and is now using more effec-
tive delousing method for clothing
which recently has been developed
by Government agencies and uses
methyl bromide.
Gen. Magee said he did not hear
on this trip of any typhus in Europe,
but that there had been typhus in
North Africa last year.
North Africa is not a we'll
sanitated place." he said. For in
stance, within one small walled
native town we found plague, lep-
rosy, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, two
or three kinds Of dysentery, and Just
about all the skin diseases known"
Gen. Magee said the use of blood
plasma for transfusions and Of the
sulfa drugs for prevention and treat
ment of infection undoubtedly would
result in much higher rate OF
recovery from wounds in this war
than was true OF the first World
War.
Transfusions Effective.
As an example Of the effectiveness
Of transfusions using dried blood
plasrna, he told Of the senior medi-
cal oficer whose unit was called
on to care for 400 men badly burned
on ship during one OF the North
African landings
They treated those men with the
most primitive field equipment"
Gen. Magee said. Between mid
night and o'clock in the morning,
every one had been properly cared
for and only six of them died. Blood
plasma gets the credit to a very
large degree.
"Of course, in bad burns one OF
the severe effects Is the loss of
plasma. There also is great shock
and plasma is extremely useful as
treatment for shock"
Despite the mud of the rainy
season-"and I have never seen
such a sea of mud"-Gen. Magee
said the Army field hospitals in
North Africa were working with
GREAT efficiency most of them IN
tents. Base hospitals have been
set up In permanent buildings and
in some cases entire towns are be-
ing taken over by the medical de-
partment. One instance, he said,
was a seacoast town in Algeria con-
sisting almost entirely of the hand
some homes of wealthy French citi-
zens which is being taken over as
a base hospital for the Army.