CHAPTER II
Health of the Command
Rates and Trends
In Vietnam, as in Korea and in the
Asiatic and Pacific theaters in World War II, the cumulative effect of disease
was the greatest drain on the strength of the American combat and support
effort. Disease admissions accounted for just over two of every three (69
percent) hospital admissions in Vietnam in the period 1965-69; battle injuries
and wounds, in contrast, were, responsible for approximately one of six
admissions during this period. (Table 1) But the average hospital stay and thus
the time lost from duty resulting from combat injury was considerably longer
than that resulting from disease. In 1970, however, as a result of the
diminution of the American combat role, disease and nonbattle injury accounted
for more than half the man-days lost to the, Army in that theater. (Table 2)
While indicative of the theater's
single greatest cause of morbidity, disease rates for Vietnam revealed
encouraging trends when compared to rates for previous conflicts. The average
annual disease admission rate for Vietnam (351 per 1,000 per year) was
approximately one-third of that for the China-Burma-India and Southwest Pacific
theaters in World War II (844 per 1,000 per year and 890 per 1,000 per year,
respectively), and more than 40 percent less than the rate for the Korean War
(611 per 1,000 per year). (See Table 1.) *
One of the most striking achievements
of military medicine in Vietnam, was the rapid and effective establishment of a
preventive medicine program that blunted the impact of disease on combat
operations, In World War II, preventive medicine programs in the Far East did
not begin to make inroads upon disease incidence until 1945, a year of
transition frorn war to peace. In Korea the delay was less, but still
considerable. In Vietnam, however, effective disease control programs were
introduced in 1965, and these were successfully maintained throughout the stress
of the troop buildup, (See Table 1.)
In addition to minimizing the incidence
of disease in American troops, the medical effort in Vietnam had the ancillary
benefit in the, late 1960's
*Rates are expressed as cases per annum
per 1,000 average, strength, throughout this chapter.
