Typhus endemic in parts of U.S.
Tuesday, May 29th, 2012
displaced person being dusted with DDT to prevent typhus. U.S. Army photo from WWII
History and military buffs recognize the type of image above. Dozens, if not hundreds, of such photos appeared during and after World War Two. The discovery of the insecticide DDT meant that the lice and fleas responsible for spreading one of the deadliest illnesses on or off the battlefield could be killed. Hundreds of thousands of civilians forced by war into unsanitary conditions owe their lives to such spraying.
(more…)
