Abstract
The description of the epidemiological indicators of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), such as the mortality rate (MR), the case fatality rate (CFR), and the attack rate (AR), as well as the geographical distribution and daily case reports, are used to evaluate the impact that this virus has had within the Colombian Army and its health system. As military forces around the world represent the force that defends sovereignty, independence, the integrity of the national territory, and the constitutional order, while maintaining migration controls in blocked border areas during this critical pandemic times, they must carry out strict epidemiological surveillance to control the situation among the servicemen. Up to date, the Colombian Army has faced a very high attack rate (AR = 8.55%) due, among others, to living conditions where active military personnel share bedrooms, bathrooms, and dining facilities, which facilitate the spread of the virus. However, being a mainly young and healthy population, the MR was 1.82 deaths/1,000 ha, while the CFR = 2.13% indexes consistently low if compared with those values reported for the national population. In addition, the effectiveness of vaccination is shown in daily cases of COVID-19, where, for the third peak, the active military population presented a decrease of positive patients compared to the dynamics of national transmission and the total population of the military forces (active, retired, and beneficiaries).
Highlights
COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that first emerged in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province—China, was declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020, after 18 countries besides China reported a total of 98 cases of the novel coronavirus
Of the total army cases, 43,028 of the patients have recovered, and, sadly, 943 have died from COVID-19-related complications, of which 55.78% occurred in retirees, 37.54% in the beneficiaries’ group, and only 6.68% in the active personnel
It must be considered that the army represents 80% of the total military forces’ population, with 164,692 militaries, followed by the navy, with 30,426 (15%), and the air force, with 9,591 (5%) men, explaining the higher number of cases
Summary
COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that first emerged in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province—China, was declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020, after 18 countries besides China reported a total of 98 cases of the novel coronavirus. The Reference and Research Laboratory of the Army’s Health Directorate was conditioned and nationally certified to respond to the diagnostic needs of the rapidly evolving pandemic on April 27. Since this laboratory has processed nationwide patient samples from the army, navy, and air force troops together with their immediate families, the military hospital patients, and retired military, being of paramount relevance for the country’s military forces
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