War kills. It does so by a variety of means, including infectious disease. Belgian researchers studying deaths occurring as a result of conflict in Sudan’s Dafur region [1] found that while in 2004 violence was the biggest cause of death, in the years that followed more people died as the result of the increased rate of infections. During the whole period studied (2004-2008), infections were estimated to have killed 80% of the approximately 300 000 people who died as a result of the Dafur war.

An editorial comment [2] on the research was written by Francesco Checchi of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He discusses the study further in a podcast now available from the School. He speaks of an “excess mortality that won’t go away” that follows conflicts such as that in Dafur. People have reduced access to health care (including immunization programmes), safe water and food, all of which make them more vulnerable to infection. He calls for an “expanded range of interventions” to be used in relief efforts with the aim of reducing the number of infectious deaths.

References
1. Degomme O, Guha-Sapir D (2010). Patterns of mortality rates in Darfur conflict. Lancet; 375(9711):294-300.
2. Checchi F (2010). Estimating the number of civilian deaths from armed conflicts. Lancet; 375(9711):255-257.