Why was dysentery a problem in World War 1?

Answer 1

Dysentery was a big problem in the trenches due to poor hygiene and contaminated water supplies. The "latrines" that the soldiers used were literally holes in the ground and if they got too full the soldiers would have to fill in the hole and dig a new one (and digging a toilet is not going to be a major priority when you are being shot at so more often than not, you often did your business in the first hole you can find) so water supplies would often be contaminated by human waste and you would practically be surrounded in the stuff. The bodies of dead men were often buried in shallow graves (if they were buried at all) so the soldiers would be surrounded by rotting bodies so in addition to the bacteria and parasites from the make-shift latrines. On top of the onslaught of bacteria, the soldiers practiced poor hygiene (there really isn't any other option when you are getting shot at in the trenches). When you are up to your eyeballs in human excrement, dead bodies and just about every kind of filth you can imagine and put poor hygiene on top of that, people are going to get sick and the disease is going to spread.