LOUSE BORNE DISEASES

[Music] as you advance into conquered territory moving into war-torn towns filled with filth and destruction you will meet another enemy rarely mentioned in frontline dispatches and not too familiar to americans but the deadliest enemy of them all it has entered every war in history and defeated more armies than all the caesars this is your enemy the laos it carries as its weapons the germs of trench fever a disease that may disable you for many months relapsing fever a serious and sometimes deadly sickness and typhus fever a highly fatal disease [Music] typhus fever is a lous-born disease lice carried it from one man to another [Music] one lousy soldier ill with typhus sent death to thousands of his comrades [Music] the laos is an enemy more to be feared than bombs and bullets in the first world war it began with a great victory in the balkans with typhus fever and then carried through in france with trench fever the law spread havoc through war-torn countries and continued for years with relapsing fever introduced after the first world war by returning soldiers it has already begun activity in this war and lies in weight for these men with its threat of disease and death there are three kinds of lice that infest man the head laos lives in the fine hair of the head body lice live in the clothing and are called seam squirrels because they travel along the seams where there is darkness shelter and warmth the crab louse is not a disease carrier it's usually found in the hair of the pubic region but may live in any coarse hair under the armpits and even in the eyebrows the crab loss is only a nuisance it's the head louse and body louse that spread disease life live on human blood feeding on a diseased individual the head and body lice become infected and can transmit disease but it's not by its bite that the mouse does this allows feeds many times during the day and while feeding has several bowel movements on your skin the germs of trench fever and typhus fever are in these droppings when you scratch you rub the germs into your skin before long you're sick you get relapsing fever however when you crush the insect these germs are in the body juices of the laos and not in its droppings one man can infest his whole unit in a very short time lice reproduce very rapidly one female can have thousands of descendants in a few weeks she glues her eggs called knits to your hair or clothing as she lays them the young lice are born in about nine days with human blood to feed on they are full grown in another nine days within 24 hours the new females start laying their eggs it's easy to spread lice unintentionally they can be flipped through the air they're picked up in borrowed clothes they are spread by contact lice can't jump or fly they crawl they scurry from one shirt to another one person to another always seeking new homes new warmth new blood to suck head lice may be transmitted in many ways a common headrest may be comfortable but only for the time being trading headgear may mean more than a poor fit a borrowed comb or brush may do much more than improve your appearance remember it only takes one loss to infest a whole unit in a short time don't rely on someone else to find your lice for you in the field regular inspections aren't always possible so if you have an itch look for lice lice like these may mean disease or death this man is filling the air with mouse droppings when these are breathed into the lungs deadly typhus fever may follow if you find lice report it and you will be properly de-loused when men are examined their body is searched for lice and knits body lice remember live in clothing so if the medical officer notices any scratch marks he will inspect that man's clothing if one man is lousy the whole unit must be be loused here are the ways the army gets rid of lice in rear areas fixed delousing plants are operated by the quartermaster core treating men on a mass basis the men are received and told what they are to do they are given numbered bags for their property and tags with which to identify them later they undress turn in their clothes for de-lousing in some de-lousing plants valuables are turned in and treated separately bandages and wounds are checked the men shower they dry themselves turn in their towels all hairy parts are sprayed with a chemical which kills any remaining lice finally the men are inspected for adequacy of treatment and general physical condition the treated valuables are returned to the men as they show their numbered tag meanwhile the clothes have been deloused and are now returned the men dress freed of live lice from their clothing and from their bodies whenever or wherever a unit is de-loused every man in the unit must be treated both his body and all of his clothing and equipment must be freed of lice and nits in the field the quartermaster core furnishes mobile units equipped to deal on a large scale this is a mobile fumigation and bath platoon each man is issued a bag for his clothing and equipment the bag is turned in for delousing after he undresses completely and puts on a numbered tag matching the bag number he showers at the mobile shower unit which delivers warm water in cold weather this would be done under tentach meanwhile the clothing is being fumigated by a poisonous gas such as methyl bromide in the portable fumigating chambers this gas will kill all lice and eggs that may be in the clothing after drying themselves the men are sprayed on all the hairy parts of the body they're medically inspected then the clothes are returned to the men there may be some lice that aren't dead yet but they can't bite and will be dead within a few hours the men dress freed of the danger of lous-born disease the quartermaster sterilization and bath units disinfest with steam instead of chemicals articles made of rubber and leather must be treated separately since the heat will damage the material notice that the showers are part of this mobile trailer the clothes go into these baskets which run on tracks into the steam chamber when the steam is introduced it penetrates the clothing to kill all lice and eggs to kill them in a short time the door is hermetically closed this holds the steam under high pressure fumigating bags may at times be used in the field these are special bags made of a gas type material each bag holds the clothing and equipment of two men notice how the packs are loosened but not taken apart before they're put in don't put gas masks into these bags they're treated separately otherwise everything goes in and that means everything even that watch here methyl bromide is being used as the fumigating gas make sure the glass tube inside isn't broken and then put it in the special pocket in the side of the bag leave it in the carton fold the top of the bag tightly and tie the tape to prevent the gas from escaping with a smooth stick break the glass tube to release the gas and leave the bag closed for at least 45 minutes to kill all license more time is required in cold weather now you have to clean your body if a mobile shower unit is not available you can still bathe with an improvised shower be sure to scrub all hairy parts you can heat the shower water over a fire and in cold weather use cover when you're ready to open the fumigating bag remember it contains a poisonous gas that has no smell do not breathe any of it here's a man that didn't remember and this is the result here's the right way to open a fumigating bag stand where the wind will blow the gas away from you open the tapes and dump the clothes out within a few minutes the gas will be gone this must be done out of doors it's important to take care of this fumigating bag after you use it properly cared for these bags will do a perfect job abuse like this will cause holes in the fabric allow the gas to leak out and the lice to survive so remember a little care now may save you from disease later when you have no fumigating bags you can be lousy your clothes by improvised steam a can with about four inches of water is placed over a fire a wooden or metal grate keeps the clothes from getting wet the clothes are hung on hooks that can be made from ordinary baling wire when the can is loosely filled it is covered as tightly as possible and allowed to steam leather rubber or anything containing wax glue or varnish are ruined by steam items like these must be treated separately with powder or an insecticide solution after the clothes steam for 45 minutes they are rid of live lice and nits and can be returned to the men this setup is known as a serbian barrel here's another type of serbian barrel use two containers in one water is heated and into a smaller one an l-shaped pipe is inserted a grate keeps its opening clear this is then put in the larger drum a few rocks or blocks to keep it off the bottom the clothes are packed tightly into the smaller can a tight fitting cover is placed on top with the pipe coming through a fitted hole steam escaping from the pipe has passed downward through the inner container killing the lice 30 minutes after it begins to come out the clothing is rid of all live lice and myths but there is a much simpler way by which you can rid yourself of lice insecticide powder for body crawling insects is sure death to them dust it lightly and evenly and then spread it over the inner surface of your underwear most of the lice live in the clothing closest to the skin then dust heavily along the seams and be sure to get it under the edges that's where the eggs are do the same to the shirt treat the seams of your pants after you've washed your body apply the powder to the hairy parts where you think there may be light rub it in well it takes about half a can of powder to treat your clothes and body properly the most important thing in preventing the threat of laos-borne diseases is to avoid becoming lousy in the first place every soldier must be able himself to keep his person and clothing louse free know how to use laos powder to keep lice away they live in the clothing nearest the skin so dust your underwear evenly get it heavily into the seams treat your shirt too lice don't like soap and water bathe frequently to avoid head lice wherever you are keep your hair cut short lice are often picked up in the least suspected places but if you take care of yourself no laos will be able to survive on your body sometimes in combat it may not be possible to avoid infestation but it will be your fault and it may be a deadly one if you stay lousy look for lice report if you find any get rid of them and then keep clean free of lice you avoid disease or worse and stay in condition to hunt down the two-legged species who are identified by the swastika and the rising sun [Music] you