![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/files\/2016\/12\/Nurse-with-syringe-167x210.jpg\")
Lt. Frances Bullock, a nurse at the Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., prepares a syringe. From Library of Congress, photograph by Ann Rosener.<\/p><\/div>\n
Disease can also take a heavy toll on\u00a0civilians in war zones. During the Great War, much of Europe was decimated by tuberculosis, which was later attributed\u00a0to malnutrition, according to New York Tuberculosis and Health Association assistant director Godias J. Drolet.<\/p>\n
Although this war is not being fought on American soil, the possibility of a tuberculosis outbreak still exists. A report by Drolet described a rise in tuberculosis during\u00a0the first seven weeks of 1942 in cities such as Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia, with infection rates increasing by as much as 23 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncreased defense activities, longer hours of work and associated war stresses should be paralleled by a corresponding increase of anti-tuberculosis activities, if an unnecessary toll of lives is not to be paid,\u201d Drolet said. He suggested that workers be examined periodically to stunt the disease’s spread and to treat those affected while their condition is curable.<\/p>\n
Dr. Esmond R. Long, director of the Henry Phipps Institute in Philadelphia, echoed Drolet’s fears; he too cited the danger of long\u00a0working hours and poor\u00a0nutrition. The British Isles have already seen an increase in tuberculosis deaths, according to Long.<\/p>\n
It is evident that national defense means protecting the health of a country’s soldiers and citizens, as well as preparing the troops militarily.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n Danger of a typhus epidemic in europe. (1942). Social Service Review, 16(1), 337. Retrieved from http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezproxy.shu.edu\/docview\/1291028725?accountid=13793<\/a><\/p>\n DIPLOMATS PICTURE EUROPE AS HUNGRY. (1942, Feb 15). New York Times. Retrieved from http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezproxy.shu.edu\/docview\/106182596?accountid=13793<\/a><\/p>\n By The A. P. (1942, Feb 13). Stimson orders all in the army vaccinated against yellow fever. New York Times. Retrieved from http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezproxy.shu.edu\/docview\/106232677?accountid=13793<\/a><\/p>\n By The U. P. (1942, Feb 13). Program already started. New York Times. Retrieved from http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezproxy.shu.edu\/docview\/106195759?accountid=13793<\/a><\/p>\n