[Health services, morbidity and mortality in the regiment of the Papal Zouaves in Italy (1861-1870)].

The regiment of the Zouaves pontificaux was formed by young Catholic volunteers, chiefly French, Dutch and Belgian, who enrolled for the defence of the Pontifical State from 1861 to 1870 against the scheme of the United Italy planned by King Victor-Emmanuel II and Garibaldi. For ten years fights were scarce. They only took place in 1867 principally in Mentana and in September 1870 when the papal state was invaded and Rome taken. At first the military medical service in the regiment as in the whole army was rather inadequate except for the central hospital. The ambulances system was based largely upon benevolent people. But the organization improved in 1870. On the whole amongst more than 9,000 enlisted volunteers, 476 died (5%). The causes of death were more often diseases (78%) than injuries. As in all the armies of that time, cholera, smallpox, typhoid fever made a lot of victims. Malaria which still reigned in the Latium was responsible of a large morbidity.