John Vetch and the Egyptian ophthalmia

During the Napoleonic Wars from 1798-1815, severe epidemics of keratoconjunctivitis affected the military and civilian populations of Western Europe. This disease was known as the Egyptian ophthalmia because it was first described in troops stationed in Egypt. Most physicians believed this condition was not infectious, but caused by various climatological factors. John Vetch, a British physician, emphasized that this disease was spread by direct conveyance of pus from the diseased to the healthy eye. His insistence that the ophthalmia was contagious, and his suggestions for prevention and treatment were milestones in the history of ophthalmology.