The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

August, 1951The Health BulletinRegular Army Medical Corps, GeorgeM. Sternberg, became interested in thepotentialities of these new discoveries.Having served in the Civil War, andhaving seen the crippling effect of themilitary diseases of that period, heknew that they could not be controlledby any method available at that time.Excited by the promise of these new discoveries,he imdertook pioneer studiesin the newly emerging sciences of bacteriologyand protozoology, and discoveredthe pneumococcus. He publishedthe first American textbook on bacteriologyin 1884, and he was later referredto by Robert Koch as the "father ofAmerican bacteriology."Sternberg served as Surgeon Generalfrom 1893 to 1902 and during this periodhe initiated an extensive program inmilitary preventive medicine. Followingthe bitter experience of our troops withtyphoid, dysentery, and yellow feverduring the Spanish-American War, heorganized special Army research boardsfor the study of diseases in our newlyacquired tropical possessions. His broadvision made possible the important researchesof Major Walter Reed onyellow fever in Cuba—researches whichinfluenced the later work of GeneralGorgas on sanitation in Panama. It ledto Colonel Ashford's studies which showedthat malignant Puerto Rican anemiawas caused by massive hookworm infestation.This was followed by theworld-wide hookworm control programof the Rockefeller Foundation. It providedfor the investigations of ColonelStrong on dysentery, plague, cholera,and other tropical diseases in Manila,the researches of Colonel Craig onmalaria in the Philippines and elsewhere,and for the work of Colonel Silerand others on dengue. It undoubtedlyinfluenced the later work by GeneralDarnall who gave to the world improvedmethods for the chlorination of citywater supplies, and the researches ofGeneral Russell who developed thetriple typhoid vaccine which has beenused successfully by the Armed Forcesin two world wars. Sternberg's broadconcept of the importance of preventivemedicine influenced all of these contributions.It also stimulated otherArmy, Navy, and civilian workers toconduct researches along similar lineswhich have added much to the developmentof both military and civilian preventivemedicine.As evidence of General Sternberg'sleading role in the country's medicaland health activities of his time, it isnoteworthy that he served as Presidentof the American Medical Associationand as President of the American PublicHealth Association. He was also pioneereducator in the new field of militaryand civilian preventive medicine. Whenhe became Surgeon General in 1893,one of his first acts was to organizethe Army Medical School in Washingtonto provide facilities for researchand for postgraduate education of medicaloflBcers with special emphasis onprevention. It was not until 16 yearslater (1909) that the first formal departmentof preventive medicine wasestablished in any civilian medicalschool (Harvard) in this country.Military Health In TheTwentieth CenturySince 1900 there has been a progressiveimprovement in military healthwhich has paralleled closely the advancesin civilian medicine and publichealth. During World War I both theArmy and Navy had well organizedprograms of preventive medicine andtheir health records were much betterthan in previous wars. Typhoid, whichhad been a serious threat even as lateas the Spanish-American War, was wellcontrolled. The most important causesof sickness and death were pandemicinfluenza and other respiratory diseases.There was little exposure totropical diseases.In the 20 postwar years of peace,public health in this country madestill further advances. Just before WorldWar II the crude death rates for theUnited States had decreased from 17per thousand in 1900 to about 10 perthousand in 1940. The expected lifespan at birth for an American citizenhad increased from about 46 years toabout 65 years. As usual, the peacetime