Use of vector diagnostics during military deployments: recent experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and leishmaniasis are a threat to military forces deployed outside of the United States. The availability of specific information on the vector-borne disease threat (e.g., presence or absence of a specific disease agent, temporal and geographic distribution of competent vectors, and vector infection rates) allows for effective implementation of appropriate measures to protect our deployed military forces. Vector diagnostics can provide critical, real-time information crucial to establishing effective vector prevention/control programs. In this article we provide an overview of current vector diagnostic capabilities, evaluate the use of vector diagnostics in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and discuss the concept of operations under which vector diagnostics are employed.
Department of Entomology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Russell E
RE
Coleman
Lisa P
LP
Hochberg
John L
JL
Putnam
Katherine I
KI
Swanson
John S
JS
Lee
James C
JC
McAvin
Adeline S
AS
Chan
Monica L
ML
Oguinn
Jeffry R
JR
Ryan
Robert A
RA
Wirtz
John K
JK
Moulton
Kirti
K
Dave
Michael K
MK
Faulde
D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000818:Animals; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004199:Disease Vectors; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008889:Military Personnel; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic