EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDIES

BACKGROUND

Infectious diseases can impact military personnel across the globe and reduce the readiness of individuals and entire units. To prevent infection and reduce the impact of pathogens that cause illness, researchers with the Department of Defense (DoD) must study the prevalence, risk factors, and causes of morbidity and mortality for infectious diseases.

VALUE

NHRC uses several recently developed diagnostic technologies to study disease distribution and etiology. These tools, including both molecular genetics platforms and protein-based identification systems, are designed to be broadly inclusive (highly multiplexed), enabling research involving the complex pathogen content of a specimen. They not only offer effective diagnoses of respiratory and enteric pathogens, but they can also simultaneously screen biological warfare/threat agents.

GOALS

Support outbreak and fatal case investigations
Understand why military recruits are at higher risk for meningococcal disease
Provide expertise to DoD and other U.S. government agencies for surveillance and infectious threats

CAPABILITIES

Large capacity, state-of-the-art freezer archive with nearly 1 million specimens, providing the ability to verify results with traditional culture and serological methods
Ability to identify and conduct antimicrobial susceptibility testing of clinically relevant bacterial isolates

RESEARCH

Analysis of military population data to track changes in the incidence of chickenpox and shingles
Study of Neisseria meningitidis carriage and immunity in military recruits

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
7700 Arlington Blvd. Ste. 5113 Falls Church, VA 22042-5113
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General Navy Medical Inquiries (to Bureau of Medicine and Surgery): usn.ncr.bumedfchva.mbx.bumed-general-inquiries@health.mil