Coughs and sneezes spread diseases: help keep your mates fighting fit

'Coughs and sneezes spread diseases' was an Australian Second World War campaign aimed at stopping the spread of diseases and other ailments, such as the common cold. This poster was one of a series produced to achieve this aim. The United Kingdom and New Zealand also had similar campaigns using the same phraseology. The slogan 'coughs and sneezes spread diseases' originates from the United States around 1918 during the peak of the Spanish flu. The phrase has been used periodically since the Second World War by different health organisations including the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), including the more recent 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu and the 2020 COVID-19 Corona Virus pandemics.

This particular example of the poster includes an image of a soldier sneezing without covering his face while surrounded by other soldiers who look upon him scornfully. The subtitle of the poster 'trap the germs in your handkerchief' speaks to the importance of covering the face when sneezing in order to reduce or stop the spread of illness. The bottom of the poster has the caption 'help keep your mates fighting fit', as maintaining a healthy fighting force allows them to remain at their strongest.