Top Three Diseases
#1. Dysentery- The victims of dysentery get severe diarrhea with mucus and blood.
#2. Typhoid Fever- Caused by several bacteria, typhoid fever killed 1/4 of disease deaths. This severe disease causes a high fever, along with intense headaches, rashes, and delirium. Body lice also transmit.
#3. Small Pox- Small pox is a very dangerous, contagious, transmittable disease. Similar to chickenpox, fever and "bumps" appear.
#1. Dysentery- The victims of dysentery get severe diarrhea with mucus and blood.
#2. Typhoid Fever- Caused by several bacteria, typhoid fever killed 1/4 of disease deaths. This severe disease causes a high fever, along with intense headaches, rashes, and delirium. Body lice also transmit.
#3. Small Pox- Small pox is a very dangerous, contagious, transmittable disease. Similar to chickenpox, fever and "bumps" appear.
Additional Contributions
Many other factors contributed to healthy soldiers getting sick. Soldiers would not shower everyday, poor hygiene weakened their immune system. Many of the prison camps were overcrowded and filthy. Garbage smeared the floors, camp sinks were the only provided water for the soldiers. However, the sinks were filthy, like drinking from school toilets. Close contact in overcrowded camps allowed the diseases to spread quickly. A lack of a healthy diet also weakened the soldiers body. Out in the open with unpredictable, changing weather lowered the soldiers ability to resist a disease.
A small group of surgeons could not handle the overwhelming amount of wounded and sick. Below, photographer Mathew Brady took a photograph of the wounded in a hospital located in Washington, DC.