Australian Defence Force’ Role in Regional Health Security: Missions Defined by Infectious Diseases
G D Shanks ‘God alone would not have sent such an epidemic.’ Samoan Chief during New Zealand Samoan Epidemic Commission hearings 1919.1 History shows that infectious diseases often determined the ability of armed forces to maintain soldiers on campaign and sailors in ships. Prior to the industrialisation of warfare in World War I, disease casualties […]
Comparison of Two Co-Located Infantry Battalions during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic with Very Different Mortality Experiences
D Shanks, M Waller Abstract The 1918–1919 influenza pandemic was the greatest mortality event in recent history whose specific origins and mechanism remain largely unexplained. Wide ranges of mortality were observed in otherwise identical groups for unclear reasons. The 49th (n=1363) and 50th (n=1243) Battalions (BN) of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) respectively had one […]
The ability of seasonal and pandemic influenza to disrupt military operations
Abstract Influenza is one of the few infectious diseases that is able to disrupt military operations quickly. Although the extreme mortality rates seen during the pandemic of 1918-19 when tens of thousands of soldiers died has never been repeated (for as yet unclear reasons), illness rates alone make influenza of great military importance. Seasonal influenza […]