1918 Influenza PandemicThe 1918 Influenza Pandemic. The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people.

What was the most common cause of death in ww1?

The greatest number of casualties and wounds were inflicted by artillery, followed by small arms, and then by poison gas.

What was the most common disease in ww1?

Among the diseases and viruses that were most prevalent were influenza, typhoid, trench foot and trench fever.

What disease killed most soldiers?

Diarrhea and dysentery were the number one killers. (Dysentery is considered diarrhea with blood in the stool.) 57,000 deaths were directly recorded to these most disabling maladies.

How many deaths in ww1 were from disease?

At least 2 million died from diseases and 6 million went missing, presumed dead.

What was the biggest cause of death during the war?

Disease and combat mortality data from America’s principal wars (1775-present) fall into two clearly defined time periods: the Disease Era (1775-1918), during which infectious diseases were the major killer of America’s armed forces, and the Trauma Era (1941-present), in which combat-related fatalities predominated.

What causes the most deaths in war?

“The report noted that most deaths in wars result from hunger and disease but said improved healthcare in peacetime had cut death tolls even during wartime, as had stepped up aid to people in war zones,” according to the news service.

Why is it called trench fever?

Hunt and Rankin first named this disease in 1915 after noting it was distinct from typhoid, dengue, and relapsing fever. [1] The War Office Trench Fever Investigation Commission could not prove if trench fever was caused by bacteria or protozoa. [3]. In 1916, H.

What diseases would soldiers get in ww1?

Epidemics of typhus, malaria, typhoid (the infamous enteric fever), diarrhoea, yellow-fever, pneumonia and influenza, generously amplified by innumerable cases of venereal disease, scabies and the like, routinely wreaked vastly more casualties on these armies than those wrought by the engines of war; be it the bow and

What disease was made deadlier than normal by the conditions of WWI?

In 1918 the world faced a pandemic. Within months Spanish Flu had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history. It struck fast and was indiscriminate. In just one year the average life expectancy in America dropped by 12 years, according to the US National Archives.

What is the trench fever?

Trench fever or quintana fever (5-day fever) is a recurrent fever among non-immunocompromised individuals. Fever episodes lasting for one to five days are associated with nonspecific and varying symptoms such as severe headache, tenderness or pain in the shin, weakness, anorexia or abdominal pain.

What was the most common disease in ww2?



During WWII, morbidity from such diseases as tuberculosis (anti-tuberculosis agents did not begin to appear until 1949), rheumatic fever, hepatitis and tropical diseases was high and the prime reason for residual disability and time lost from duty.

What caused trench fever in ww1?

Trench fever is a clinical syndrome caused by infection with Bartonella quintana. The condition was first described during World War I, when it affected nearly 1 million soldiers.

Why was there so much death in ww1?

The loss of life was greater than in any previous war in history, in part because militaries were using new technologies, including tanks, airplanes, submarines, machine guns, modern artillery, flamethrowers, and poison gas.

Where did most ww1 deaths happen?

The mortality rate ranged between 6% and 30%, with the highest in the armies of Serbia, Montenegro and the Turkish Empire, mainly due to large epidemics of cholera, typhoid and smallpox, against which the armies of other countries vaccinated their troops.

Who was the deadliest person in ww1?



Three times awarded the Military Medal and seriously wounded, he was an expert marksman and scout, credited with killing 378 Germans and capturing 300 more.



Francis Pegahmagabow
Francis Pegahmagabow shortly after World War I
Nickname(s) “Peggy”
Born March 9, 1891 Parry Sound, Ontario

Who was the first death in ww1?

Albert Mayer (24 April 1892 – 2 August 1914) was the first German soldier to die in World War I. He died one day before the German Empire formally declared war on France.

Is anyone alive still from ww1?

The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died , aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on , aged 111.

Who was the last soldier to be killed in ww1?

Henry Nicholas John Gunther (June 6, 1895 – November 11, 1918) was an American soldier and possibly the last soldier of any of the belligerents to be killed during World War I. He was killed at 10:59 a.m., about one minute before the Armistice was to take effect at 11:00 a.m.