This episode is from the WNYC archives. It may contain language which is no longer politically or socially appropriate.

Kessler, of the Biology Department at City College, discusses "Biology in the War: War diseases and their control."

To protect our soldiers against diseases, vaccination is applied as a routine measure. It may be necessary to also instruct civilians on avoiding contamination. Airborne infection. No method for control of infection is as effective as space and ventilation. Other methods are poor substitutes: physical barriers, such as masks, may be helpful. UV light as a means of sterilizing an atmosphere is useful in a lab or operating room, but not on the field. Germ killing sprays produced moderately successful results. Treatments of blankets, floors, and clothes. Bomb shelters may make us more vulnerable to these less conspicuous enemies. Personal hygiene. Bugs responsible for death in the world. Malaria. Yellow fever. Typhus. Cleanliness. Rat control in Europe. Venereal diseases.

Audio courtesy of the City University of New York

WNYC archives id: 71461