Pediatric Infectious Diseases: 60 Years of Contributions by Military Pediatricians

Abstract

* Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics CSD — : cat-scratch disease ETEC — : enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli NAMRU-3 — : Naval Medical Research Unit 3 RSV — : respiratory syncytial virus USUHS — : Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences To describe the many contributions that uniformed pediatricians have made to the field of pediatric infectious diseases is a complicated task. Part of the difficulty is that for the decades after the end of World War II, a number of talented and brilliant physicians spent short periods of time in the military to fulfill their service obligations. Investigators such as Floyd Denny and Lew Wannamaker published their seminal works on group A β-hemolytic streptococci and rheumatic fever while on active duty in the US Air Force.1 Some of the early work on vaccines for common childhood infections was done by investigators who, at least for a portion of time, wore a military uniform. In addition, many of the contributions of military physicians were often made alongside and in concert with their civilian colleagues. In an attempt to illustrate some of the more significant contributions of military pediatricians to the field of pediatric infectious disease, however, a good starting point would be the work of Colonel Ogden Bruton. His early work performed over 60 years ago in many ways began the military legacy of clinical research in a variety of important areas of pediatric infectious disease but in particular those areas where the disciplines of clinical immunology and infectious disease have overlapped. While evaluating children at what was then known as Walter Reed General Hospital in 1951, Colonel Ogden Bruton observed an 8-year-old boy with recurrent pneumonia. Dr Bruton noted the unusual pattern of this child’s pneumonias, and while analyzing the child’s immune system, noted a lack of serum immunoglobulin. Dr Bruton’s observations eventually led to his reporting of the first primary immunodeficiency disease ever to be described, Bruton’s agammaglobulinemia. Both Dr Bruton’s discovery of the disease as well as his attempts at treating it with specific immunotherapy in the … Address correspondence to Michael Rajnik, MD, Department of Pediatrics, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814. E-mail: mrajnik{at}usuhs.mil