Prospective Study of Respiratory Infections at the U.S. Naval Academy
Abstract
During the winters of 1995 through 1997, college students (midshipmen) at the US Naval Academy suffered epidemics of upper respiratory tract infections of unknown causes. We sought to determine to measure the impact of respiratory diseases and to determine etiology. Over the 11 months of active surveillance, 85 midshipmen sought medical attention for acute respiratory disease and were evaluated with PCR, serologic studies, and culture for acute respiratory disease etiology. Among these 85, there was considerable evidence for respiratory pathogen infection: Chlamydia pneumoniae in 52.6%, Mycoplasma pneumoniae in 33.3%, influenza in 14.2%, Streptococcus pneumoniae in 7.3%, and adenovirus in 1.2%, Twenty-two percent of the cases had more than one pathogen identified and 18.8% were negative for all pathogens under study. The ill plebes had an average oral temperature of 38.6 degrees centigrade and missed an average of 2.9 days of training. 873 (81%) the 1077 plebes who completed a end-of-training questionnaire complained of having 1 or more respiratory symptoms (>12 hours) during their first year of training. Of these, 132 (15%) reported that the symptoms moderately or greatly affected their performance. Study data suggested that respiratory infections were frequent, had significant impact upon training, and were often due to bacterial pathogens.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA408913
Entities
People
- Gary Dean Gackstetter
- Gregory C. Gray
- Jamie A. Mckeehan
- Kathleen V. Aldridge
- Robert G. Schultz
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center