The report offers an ambivalent recommendation about masks in medical facilities: “Under these circumstances judgment as to the value of the mask becomes difficult.”Ī review of mask mandates for camps and bases leads to even more equivocal conclusions. The authoritative history, The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War introduces the section, “ Use of the Mask,” by acknowledging that the “value of face masks worn by the whole of a command has been the subject of much argument.” (p.118) While it “appears to be generally conceded that the use of the mask by attendants on the sick, exposed constantly to infection, is of value,” the study called attention to the fact that “attendants, especially nurses,” were disproportionately “attacked,” even though they regularly wore masks. This evidence of inconsistency in mask behavior partially explains the mixed conclusions regarding mask effectiveness in US military reports following the epidemic.

Masks in Military Camps (65 patients, 22 medical staff) Given all that we have learned in the past year about how masks prevent infection, the relative absence of masks during the 1918 epidemic is quite striking. Medical staff were more likely to wear masks: 36% of nurses, doctors, and orderlies wore masks, as compared to just 9% of patients (chart 1). Of the 87 people (65 patients and 22 medical staff) in the photographs, 16% are wearing masks correctly, 5% are wearing masks incorrectly, and 79% are not wearing masks at all. 1918Īll together, we looked at fifteen photographs from a dozen hospitals that depict actual mask use. Base Hospital No.88, Langres, France: Pneumonia Ward, ca. 24 is unusual in showing one patient and two nurses wearing masks fully covering their noses and mouths. A photograph of the pneumonia ward at Camp Hospital No. In fact, fully masked patients or medical staff appear in relatively few of the photographs of army hospitals. 24, six patients and one nurse are not wearing masks (Illustration 3). 88, nine patients and one nurse are clearly not wearing masks (Illustration 2) In the influenza ward at Camp Hospital No. In the pneumonia ward at Base Hospital No. 88, seven patients stand next to their beds, yet not one is wearing a mask. In the influenza ward at Base Hospital No. Photographs like these provide evidence of the differences between theory and practice and help us better understand how the imperfect implementation of masks as a public health measure made judging their effectiveness after the fact difficult. A closer look at the photograph, however, reveals that all of the masks were worn incorrectly, as noses were not fully covered. Although undated, the photograph was likely from October 1918, when this hospital treated more than five hundred patients with acute respiratory infections. 82, Toul, France, shows two women and four men wearing masks (Illustration 1). The use of masks was documented in photographs of patients, nurses, and doctors and the effectiveness of masks was evaluated in studies published after war. Marr, Katherine Randall to discuss their historical research around the reality of how masks were actually used in the military in 1918 and how their effectiveness was evaluated in contemporary reports.ĭuring the 1918 influenza epidemic, the US military responded to infectious disease outbreaks with preventive or containment measures including isolation wards, masks, improved sanitation, health checks, and quarantine requirements. Thomas Ewing, Jessica Brabble, Ariel Ludwig, Linsey C. Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers E.

Old us army gas mask ww1