2023-10-15 23:02:00
During periods of armed conflict, access to health care and medical supplies becomes extremely difficult, which increases the spread of diseases and worsens health conditions.
Over the years, the world has witnessed many violent wars, which led to the emergence of very dangerous diseases, some of which were more deadly than the war itself, most notably the Spanish flu that appeared during World War I, which killed more than 2.5 percent of the world’s population.
Antonine Plague during the Roman Civil War
The Antonine Plague is considered one of the most serious epidemics that struck humans due to wars, as it spread rapidly in the Roman city of Antioch in the period between 165 and 190 AD, due to soldiers returning from the Middle East.
This deadly disease killed an estimated 2,000 people every day, while the number of deaths exceeded 500,000 people in total, all of whom were victims of the Antonine plague.
The symptoms of this disease were severe, consisting of fever, chills, severe headache, and a skin rash, which leads to rapid death in the absence of treatment.
The Antonine Plague caused other problems, the most prominent of which were economic, especially with the imposition of quarantine on citizens, which was a strong blow to the Roman Empire.
Spanish flu during World War I
When talking about the Spanish flu, we are talking about the most deadly disease in humans, which appeared during a period of war, because it caused the death of about 50 million people around the world, as it spread very quickly in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America.
This disease began to appear in March 1918, after the poor condition of soldiers who were fighting in various countries during World War I.
The disease quickly spread among citizens due to poor decision-making related to health prevention. It led to the death of 90% of the total number of patients, which is approximately 2.5 percent of the world’s population.
The most prominent symptoms of this flu were fever, headache, muscle pain, and sore throat, in addition to the possibility of lung infection as well.
Cholera during World War I
The Spanish influenza was not the only disease that struck the world during World War I. Cholera also spread, which occurs due to the widespread spread of germs and bacteria in a given environment, which occurs largely in places experiencing a state of armed conflict.
Cholera appeared in 1917, one year before influenza, and caused the death of the equivalent of 2.5 million people around the world, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Only 500,000 people died in China and Japan, while the number of deaths in Europe was estimated at about 1.5 million people, most notably in France, Germany, and Italy.
Symptoms of cholera included severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea, which causes severe dehydration, followed by death a few hours after the disease enters the body.
Among the most prominent reasons that led to the spread of this disease is limited health care, and the difficulty of providing treatment for all patients, who were quickly infected.
Tuberculosis in World War II
Tuberculosis is considered one of the oldest infectious diseases known to man, causing the death of millions of people throughout history.
However, it worsened significantly during World War II, after it caused the death of more than 3 million people around the world.
The unsuitable health conditions experienced by the war caused the exacerbation of tuberculosis, which falls under the category of infectious diseases, among citizens, especially with the increasing problem of the shortage of food and safe drinking water.
Symptoms of tuberculosis were persistent cough, chest pain, excessive weight loss, and fever, and it caused lung damage and death.
Treatment methods were very limited, through the use of some antibiotics or natural herbs, but they were not sufficient to reduce the deaths, which reached the equivalent of 3 million people.
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