The apprehension that the Russo-Japanese War would be accompanied by severe outbreaks of infectious diseases turned out to be groundless. The chief danger that threatened both armies was typhoid fever, which is endemic in Manchuria, and which, on account of the filthy condition of the Chinese villages, was given an excellent opportunity to spread. In the first place, the soldiers were prevented from being infected by the fact that they were allowed to drink nothing but boiled water, and were always supplied with hot water for tea; in the second place, when they were called upon to remain in one place for a considerable length of time, they were quartered, not in the Chinese villages, but in earth-huts; or, if they were compelled to live in the Chinese villages, these were always thoroughly disinfected beforehand. Whenever it was possible, the Japanese military physicians, before the troops arrived in a village, investigated the place with reference to hygienic conditions and subjected the inhabitants to an examination. Notwithstanding all this, large numbers of soldiers on both sides, in the course of the war, which lasted twenty-one months, contracted typhoid fever, diarrhoea, and dysentery. In both summers, which are very hot in Manchuria, typhoid fever made its appearance, to a greater extent in the second than in the first, since the troops before and after the battle of Mukden remained encamped for a long time in one and the same place.[314] According to the statements of the Russian General Medical Staff,[315] the total number of deaths in the Russian army (excluding the troops at Port Arthur and the fleet) caused by diseases was 7,960, and to these must be added the deaths among the discharged troops; the total number of men in the Russian army was 709,587. Even if these figures are incomplete, nevertheless they distinctly show that epidemic diseases, considering the long duration of the war, were not very prevalent. The reports of foreigners who accompanied the Russian army agree in pronouncing the general condition of health excellent.[316] Spotted fever and anthrax were also observed, but among both the Russians and the Japanese they appeared only sporadically. According to Follenfant,[317] 56,717 cases of infectious diseases occurred among the Russians; of these 25,800 were enterorrhoea, 15,800 were typhoid fever, 8,970 were dysentery, and 4,500 were malaria. Regarding the prevalence of disease in Port Arthur we shall have more to say in the tenth chapter.