Photo By Tech. Sgt. Chenzira Mallory | Members from Exercise NEW HORIZONS give blood samples for Zika virus testing June 7,...... read more read more
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The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, defines Zika virus disease, also known as ZVD, as a disease caused by the Zika virus that is spread to people primarily through the infected Aedes mosquitoes. Zika can also be transmitted from a pregnant woman to her fetus, or by sexual contact or blood transfusions.
A five-man, field epidemiology team, from the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, arrived in the Dominican Republic to conduct a public health investigation of ZVD among Exercise NEW HORIZONS personnel.
“Our primary goal is to conduct field epidemiology investigating ZVD,” said Maj. Jameson Voss, USAFSAM preventive medicine physician. “We were invited by Col. Knight [12th Air Force Surgeon General] to investigate ZVD because of known risk in the area and several suspected cases of the disease among the NEW HORIZONS personnel.”
The team, which is composed of one public health officer, one preventive medicine physician, two epidemiologists, one public health technician and a follow-on lab technician, works closely with the CDC during the testing.
“We coordinated with the CDC and set-up a plan for surveillance both while people are here and when they return home,” said Voss. “So we’ll have a full spectrum of samples to find the virus in their blood and urine.”
The Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization, also known as UEA, to authorize the emergency use of the current Zika virus testing.
“Current Zika testing is not typically used for asymptomatic travelers,” said Voss. “The CDC developed a test under the FDA’s emergency use authorization, so we are coordinating with the CDC to use the test properly in the NEW HORIZONS population.”
Task force members will undergo blood and urine collection weekly until the end of the exercise. The blood and urine samples are processed and immediately placed on dry ice. Next, the team quickly packages them up and ships overnight to the labs at USAFSAM.
“Once July comes and everyone submits their final blood test at their home station, we’ll look to see who’s positive and test the samples we’ve stored along the way,” said Voss. “We test symptomatic patients under the clinical protocol, but for asymptomatic patients we follow the public health investigation protocol.”
For those with symptoms of ZVD, their samples will be processed right away.
“For the most part, ZVD symptoms are comparable to the flu and sometimes includes red eyes, a rash, and joint pain,” said Voss. “Other vector borne diseases like dengue fever and chikungunya, that are transmitted by the same mosquito, can be more serious.”
Along the way, the field epidemiology team will provide force health protection guidance, which includes the basics like wearing DEET, treating your clothes with permethrin, wearing long sleeves and mosquito avoidance. The team also provides recommendations to service members for preventing sexual transmission after they’ve returned to home station regardless if they have symptoms.
“According to the World Health Organization, it is recommended that everyone, regardless if they show symptoms or not, avoid unprotected sex for eight weeks,” said Voss. “Men with ZVD, should wait at least six months before having unprotected sex or throughout the duration of a partner’s pregnancy.”
Most of the investigation being conducted is laboratory-based, but that’s not the only way the field epidemiology team is being used. They also provide risk communication, town hall meetings, personalized counseling about family planning in relation to Zika virus, and consultation with the command surgeon on force health protection.
For more information about the public health surveillance for Exercise NEW HORIZONS personnel, please contact the field epidemiology team at usafsam.phrepiservic@us.af.mil.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.15.2016 12:43 |
| Story ID: | 201213 |
| Location: | RIO SAN JUAN, DO |
| Web Views: | 353 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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