Student Essay on Diseases of the Civil War

Diseases of the Civil War

Essay

There were many diseases in the Civil War but some of the major ones are Typhoid fever, Typhus, Yellow fever, Malaria, smallpox and much more. Typhoid fever was one of the common diseases of the Civil War. This disease can be deadly so there were a lot of deaths from Typhoid. The only way that it can be passed on to other people is by drinking the same water, and eating the same food so it is mainly hygiene problems that allow it to spread around. Another disease is Typhus, which was less common, then Typhoid fever. This occurs mainly when humans and rats occupy the same building. It is not contagious through human contact but you get it buy an infected rat that bites you. Only anti-biotic treatment can cure Typhus. Yellow fever was another disease that was among the soldiers during the Civil War. You catch it from mosquitoes in urban areas. It is transmitted by another mosquito bites that person after he/she has been infected and then goes on and bites other people. One of the more common diseases was Malaria. Malaria is caught from female anopheline mosquitoes. It can be transferred from blood transfers, needles that are used on multiple people, or during birth from mother to baby. The last of the most common ones is smallpox. Smallpox is caused by the variola virus. The only way to transfer smallpox is to have close face-to-face contact with the person who has smallpox. You are contagious until the last scab falls off and then you are no longer contagious.