What was the "Blue Ointment" controversy in American military VD prevention?
Answer
Mercury-based and later penicillin-based treatments created controversy because the military initially resisted providing prevention kits on moral grounds, but Eisenhower eventually mandated prophylactic use and cut VD rates dramatically
Did You Know?
The US military initially resisted providing troops with effective VD prevention because it seemed to condone immoral behavior. By 1943, with millions of man-hours being lost, Eisenhower mandated prophylactic treatment, resulting in dramatic drops in infection rates.