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Subject: [INDIAN-CAPTIVES-L] measles
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 12:03:12 EDT

When volunteers mustered for service in Civil War armies, vast numbers of
them were immediately struck down by communicable diseases. The first of the
epidemics to sweep through the ranks was usually measles. Measles would have
a devastating effect on an army. In one Confederate camp of 10,000 men, 4,000
soldiers were stricken with measles, and the savage onset of the disease was
something that astonished everyone, even the surgeons. The disease was so
common and disruptive that new units were held back from active service until
they had been "put through the measles". Because men from urban areas were
more likely to have been exposed to the disease at an early age, measles
caused the most serious problem in units raised from rural areas.

An epidemic of measles usually ran its course in three or four weeks, and
while a person living under normal circumstances would usually recover with
no lasting effects, in army camps the childhood disease often proved to be
fatal. Improper care and poor sanitation would lead to complications such as
pneumonia.

Surgeons often prescribed whiskey, but a combination of rest, proper care,
and time was the only true treatment for the disease.

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