Department of Defense influenza and other respiratory disease surveillance during the 2009 pandemic.

Ronald L Burke,Kelly G Vest,Timothy Styles,Jian Guan,Steven Tobias,David Schnabel,Miguel Quintana,Victor H Macintosh ,Joel M Montgomery ,Candelaria C Daniels ,Gregory C Gray ,Buhari A Oyofo ,Patrick J Blair ,V Alberto Laguna-Torres ,Matthew Brown ,Anthony W Hawksworth ,Randal J Schoepp ,Hugo Rázuri ,David L Blazes ,Jerry L Mothershead ,Julie A Pavlin ,Thomas J Palys ,Angelia A Eick ,Matthew R Kasper ,Richard G Jarman ,M C Williams ,David Norwood ,John N Waitumbi ,Jeffrey Tjaden ,Thomas F Gibbons ,José L Sánchez ,Michael J Cooper ,A Stolk Wilma ,Matthew C Johns ,Kevin L Russell

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-s2-s6

Abstract

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center’s Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) supports and oversees surveillance for emerging infectious diseases, including respiratory diseases, of importance to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). AFHSC-GEIS accomplishes this mission by providing funding and oversight to a global network of partners for respiratory disease surveillance. This report details the system’s surveillance activities during 2009, with a focus on efforts in responding to the novel H1N1 Influenza A (A/H1N1) pandemic and contributions to global public health. Active surveillance networks established by AFHSC-GEIS partners resulted in the initial detection of novel A/H1N1 influenza in the U.S. and several other countries, and viruses isolated from these activities were used as seed strains for the 2009 pandemic influenza vaccine. Partners also provided diagnostic laboratory training and capacity building to host nations to assist with the novel A/H1N1 pandemic global response, adapted a Food and Drug Administration-approved assay for use on a ruggedized polymerase chain reaction platform for diagnosing novel A/H1N1 in remote settings, and provided estimates of seasonal vaccine effectiveness against novel A/H1N1 illness. Regular reporting of the system’s worldwide surveillance findings to the global public health community enabled leaders to make informed decisions on disease mitigation measures and controls for the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic. AFHSC-GEIS’s support of a global network contributes to DoD’s force health protection, while supporting global public health.

Highlights

In response to the 1996 Presidential Directive (NSTC-7), the U.S Department of Defense (DoD) established the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (DoD-GEIS) in 1997, with the mission to monitor newly emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) among U.S servicemembers and dependent populations [1]
Results of Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC)-GEIS-sponsored influenza surveillance sample testing were reported via host-nation collaborators to their respective ministries to ensure the ministries could make informed and timely decisions about influenza control
In addition to the novel A/H1N1 pandemic support provided to foreign host nations, AFHSC-GEIS network partners continued to support influenza and respiratory disease surveillance among military recruits, active-duty servicemembers, and U.S military beneficiaries

Summary

Introduction

In response to the 1996 Presidential Directive (NSTC-7), the U.S Department of Defense (DoD) established the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (DoD-GEIS) in 1997, with the mission to monitor newly emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) among U.S servicemembers and dependent populations [1]. Comparable to their global burden of disease, respiratory infections are responsible for 25 percent to 30 percent of both outpatient illness and hospitalizations among U.S military personnel [2,3]. AFHSC-GEIS provides direction, funding and oversight to a system that consists of a network of global partners, including approximately 500 sites in 70 countries (Figure 1)

Results

Discussion

Conclusion