I've always suspected that tuberculosis played a large role in the demise of the expedition. We're pretty sure that some crew members had it and in the close q

I've always suspected that tuberculosis played a large role in the demise of the expedition. We're pretty sure that some crew members had it and in the close quarters of the ships it's very likely to have spread unchecked. Combined with the obvious lead poisoning and the possibility of scurvy the expedition had very little chance of success. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1279489/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1279489/