“One source of infection is the army black bread, which is the only ration of the troops. The patients in the hospital receive only a loaf each, which they put in their bed or under their pillow. Later the unused loaves are bought by pedlers and are resold, spreading disease among the people, who are mediæval in so far as sanitation is concerned. A Servian soldier receives a rifle, some hand-grenades, and perhaps part of a uniform, but otherwise looks after himself.
“The street-cleaning and hospital-waiting are done by Austrians, who are rapidly thinning from typhus and other diseases.
AMERICA TO THE RESCUE
“The best hospital in the Balkans is at Belgrade, under Dr. Edward W. Ryan, of the American contingent, where there are 2,900 patients. Dr. Ryan kept the hospital neutral during the Austrian occupation, and accomplished wonders diplomatically at that time. He is worshiped by the people.
“Dr. Ryan says that the greatest task is to keep the hospital free from vermin. The typhus affects men the most severely. Women come next, and children for the most part recover. The symptoms begin like those of grip. The disease lasts fifteen days, with fever and delirium.”
In the spring of 1915, a large sanitary commission was organized by the American Red Cross and the Rockefeller Foundation, each of these organizations donating $25,000 to the prosecution of the work. The commission included a group of distinguished bacteriologists and physicians, among them William C. Gorgas, surgeon-general of the U. S. A. An initial supply of 10,000 anti-cholera treatments was carried to Servia by the commission, for there was danger not only of a spread of typhus but also of an outbreak of Asiatic cholera or some other infectious disease that might sweep across all Europe. Heavy indeed is the price of warfare.