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Impact of phlebotomine sand flies on U.S. Military operations at Tallil Air Base, Iraq: 1. background, military situation, and development of a "Leishmaniasis Control Program".
- Source :
-
Journal of medical entomology [J Med Entomol] 2006 Jul; Vol. 43 (4), pp. 647-62. - Publication Year :
- 2006
-
Abstract
- One of the most significant modern day efforts to prevent and control an arthropod-borne disease during a military deployment occurred when a team of U.S. military entomologists led efforts to characterize, prevent, and control leishmaniasis at Tallil Air Base (TAB), Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Soon after arriving at TAB on 22 March 2003, military entomologists determined that 1) high numbers of sand flies were present at TAB, 2) individual soldiers were receiving many sand fly bites in a single night, and 3) Leishmania parasites were present in 1.5% of the female sand flies as determined using a real-time (fluorogenic) Leishmania-generic polymerase chain reaction assay. The rapid determination that leishmaniasis was a specific threat in this area allowed for the establishment of a comprehensive Leishmaniasis Control Program (LCP) over 5 mo before the first case of leishmaniasis was confirmed in a U.S. soldier deployed to Iraq. The LCP had four components: 1) risk assessment, 2) enhancement of use of personal protective measures by all personnel at TAB, 3) vector and reservoir control, and 4) education of military personnel about sand flies and leishmaniasis. The establishment of the LCP at TAB before the onset of any human disease conclusively demonstrated that entomologists can play a critical role during military deployments.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Culicidae
Dogs
Environment
Female
Housing standards
Humans
Insect Bites and Stings parasitology
Insect Control instrumentation
Insect Control methods
Iraq
Jackals
Leishmania isolation & purification
Leishmania pathogenicity
Leishmaniasis transmission
Male
Pest Control methods
Pesticides
Population Surveillance
Rodentia
United States
Insect Bites and Stings prevention & control
Insect Vectors parasitology
Leishmaniasis prevention & control
Military Personnel education
Phlebotomus parasitology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0022-2585
- Volume :
- 43
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of medical entomology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 16892621
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585(2006)43[647:iopsfo]2.0.co;2