Press Releases
|
 |
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
October 4, 1999
Discontinued Vaccination Leads to Epidemic among Army Trainees
ATLANTA—A disease outbreak began when vaccination of army trainees was
discontinued and ended just as promptly when vaccines were resumed, according to an
article in the current issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC's peer-reviewed journal,
which tracks new and reemerging infectious diseases worldwide.
Soldiers in basic training once received vaccines to protect them against adenovirus,
which causes fever and cold symptoms. In 1996, the manufacturer stopped producing the
vaccine. In March 1997, the army stopped vaccine administration so that the limited
supplies could be reserved for use during the peak season for respiratory disease,
September through March. In May 1997, however, soldiers in basic training at Fort Jackson,
South Carolina, began to get sick with adenovirus. From May until December, 673 soldiers,
both men and women, reported to sick call and tested positive for adenovirus. Soon after
vaccinations were resumed in November, the outbreak ended.
Adenovirus is a major cause of acute respiratory disease in military training centers.
At the peak of this outbreak, 70 soldiers were hospitalized each week, increasing costs
and disrupting training. The Fort Jackson Army Hospital managed the increased patient
load, but, according to the authors, similar outbreaks at other bases would stress
military training facilities around the country.
This outbreak confirms how an effective vaccine can both prevent and control an
epidemic. The 8-week basic combat training brings together several thousand soldiers from
all over the United States into a setting (close contact, barracks housing) in which
viruses can easily spread.
The vaccines that recruits are given do a good job of protecting them, as this outbreak
demonstrates.
For more information, contact Dr. K. Mills McNeill at 803-286-9948. Access the full
article at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no6/mcneill.htm. All material in Emerging
Infectious Diseases is in the public domain and may be used without special permission;
proper citation, however, is appreciated.
For more information on this or related topics, see—
|
