Although the low level of competence of the new doctors might have been a serious problem, the main difficulty in dealing with scabies and syphilis lay in the appalling condition of the army hospitals in Syria that militated against a healthy, sanitary environment, an obvious essential condition for preventing the spread of disease. It was one thing for Clot Bey or the medical authorities in Cairo to stipulate that soldiers were to be segregated and regularly examined, it was another thing for this segregation and these examinations to be carried out as planned.

Builds on: "Egyptian context explains the gap between plan and execution."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1130