War-Related Dysentery Epidemics in the Australian Army

Dysentery (blood and pus in faeces) has been an epidemic disease in armies throughout history. The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) encountered epidemic dysentery in both Gallipoli in 1915 and Palestine in 1918. During World War II, dysentery epidemics were a military problem in Queensland and Northern Territory. A massive dysentery epidemic involving AIF soldiers, Japanese soldiers and civilians was prominent in Papua New Guinea during 1943, killing thousands in the highlands. Prisoners of War (POW) in Asia, particularly along the Burma-Thailand Railway, died at high rates from chronic dysentery. Where available, as in Australia, successful treatment with early antibiotics such as sulphaguanidine limited mortality. Dysentery during field exercises was seen in Australia during the 1960s and remains a modern risk, especially in developing countries and in refugee camps, complex emergencies and natural disasters when sanitation measures fail.