Disease was a major part of the medical experience of the First World War. The movement of millions of soldiers and civilians, the conditions created by prolonged warfare and the global disruption caused by the conflict all provided opportunities for infectious diseases to spread.
Disease and Medical Conditions in the First World War
Medical services during the First World War had to deal with far more than battlefield wounds. Soldiers and civilians were exposed to infectious disease, difficult living conditions and the effects of prolonged military service. The geographical reach of the war also meant that disease could move between populations separated by thousands of miles.
The First World War therefore created a medical challenge on both an individual and a population level. Doctors had to treat individuals who became ill, while governments and military organisations also had to limit the spread of disease among large populations living and travelling in wartime conditions.
Disease and Military Service
Large armies brought together men from different regions and countries, often living in crowded conditions and moving between training camps, transport networks and military fronts.
The conditions of wartime service could make maintaining health difficult. Medical services therefore had to consider not only the treatment of individual patients but also the prevention and control of disease among military populations.
Infectious Disease
Infectious disease remained an important medical problem during the war. The movement of soldiers, workers and civilians created connections between populations that could allow diseases to spread over considerable distances.
The global nature of the conflict made this particularly significant. Troops and supplies moved between continents, while military campaigns, displacement and disruption affected civilian populations far from the principal battlefields.
Dysentery, typhoid and malaria were important diseases in different theatres of the war, with their prevalence and impact varying according to local conditions, climate, sanitation and the movement of troops.
Trench Foot
Trench foot was a serious condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to cold, wet and often unsanitary conditions. Soldiers serving in trenches could spend long periods standing in water and mud, particularly during the winter months.
The condition could cause swelling, numbness, pain and damage to the feet. In severe cases, prolonged exposure could cause serious tissue damage and, in extreme cases, gangrene.
Attempts to prevent trench foot included keeping feet dry, changing socks regularly, applying protective treatments and improving drainage in trenches. The condition demonstrated how the environment in which soldiers lived and fought could itself create major medical problems.
Trench Fever
Trench fever was an infectious disease that affected large numbers of soldiers, particularly on the Western Front. It was associated with body lice, which were widespread among troops living in crowded trench and military conditions.
Symptoms could include sudden fever, headache, weakness and severe pain, and the illness could leave soldiers incapacitated for periods of time. Although generally not fatal, trench fever could remove significant numbers of men from active service.
The disease demonstrated the importance of hygiene, delousing and preventive medicine within military organisations. Controlling lice was therefore not simply a matter of personal cleanliness but an important part of maintaining the health and effectiveness of armies.
Medical Services and Disease Control
Military medical services were responsible for maintaining the health of armies as well as treating wounded soldiers. Medical organisation therefore included measures intended to reduce illness and limit the effects of disease.
These measures included sanitation, improved water supplies, vaccination, delousing and other forms of preventive medicine intended to reduce the spread of disease. Military authorities also attempted to monitor illness and reduce the conditions in which infectious diseases could spread.
This formed part of the wider transformation of wartime medicine. The First World War required medical services to operate on a much larger scale than many previous conflicts, combining treatment, evacuation and preventive measures.
The Global Spread of Disease
The international movement created by the war had consequences beyond the military forces themselves. Soldiers travelled between countries and continents, while wartime shipping and transport connected distant populations.
Disease could therefore become a global problem. The First World War provides an important example of the relationship between human movement, military mobilisation and the spread of infectious illness.
The experience varied considerably between theatres. Malaria and other diseases were particularly important in campaigns where troops operated in regions with different climates and disease environments from those to which many soldiers were accustomed.
Spanish Influenza
One of the most significant disease outbreaks associated with the First World War was the influenza pandemic of 1918.
The pandemic began during the final year of the war and spread rapidly through military and civilian populations. The movement of large numbers of soldiers and civilians created conditions in which influenza could spread between populations, and the effects were felt across much of the world.
The pandemic demonstrates how closely the medical history of the First World War was connected with the wider global consequences of the conflict. Disease did not respect the boundaries between battlefields, military camps and civilian populations.
The First Case of Spanish Influenza provides a detailed case study of the pandemic.
Wounds, Disease and Recovery
Disease also formed part of the wider experience of wounded soldiers. Men receiving treatment could face infection and other medical problems in addition to the original injury, making recovery dependent upon more than surgery alone.
The treatment of disease therefore connected with the wider organisation of wartime medical services, including battlefield treatment, evacuation, hospitals and specialist care.
Disease and Civilian Populations
Disease also affected civilian populations during the First World War. The mobilisation of populations, movement of refugees, disruption of food supplies and pressure on housing and sanitation could all contribute to the spread or worsening of infectious illness.
The war therefore created challenges for public health beyond the military sphere. Governments and medical authorities had to consider the health of civilian populations as well as the millions of men serving in the armed forces.
The Wider Medical Challenge
Disease was one element of a much wider medical challenge created by the First World War. Doctors and medical services had to respond simultaneously to severe physical wounds, gas injuries, psychological trauma, blood loss and the consequences of infectious illness.
The war demonstrated the importance of combining medical treatment with organisation, prevention and the management of large populations. Its medical consequences extended beyond the treatment of individual soldiers and influenced the health of societies during and after the conflict.
Medicine in the First World War
The history of disease forms part of the wider medical history of the conflict. Other articles examine battlefield medical services, surgery and plastic surgery, shell shock, gas warfare, X-rays and medical imaging and blood transfusion.
This article forms part of the wider Medicine in the First World War section.