Psychiatric Casualties in Burma, 1945

Abstract

It is likely to be contended that climatic conditions, jungle warfare, distance from home, long separation from wife and family, difficulties in obtaining leave in the United Kingdom, delay in the receipt of mail, close association with members of different races and problems in regard to evacuation contributed to the incidence of psychiatric illness in Burma. It will be interesting to note in due course, when the total figures of psychiatric casualties from all theatres of war are available, whether or not conditions in Burma were in fact relatively more productive of psychiatric illness than they were, say, in North Africa or Italy. Then only will it be possible to conjecture on the relative effects of one type of climate as compared with another, or jungle warfare as compared with desert fighting, and so on.