Potential Influenza Effects on Military Populations

Abstract

This paper begins with a historical review of the 1918 influenza pandemic as it affected military populations and operations. Our review then serves as a point of departure for the analytical reconstruction of certain influenza epidemics in stateside training camps and overseas units of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I. The main quantitative thrusts are to (a) derive time-varying rates of influenza transmission in unstructured and structured historical military populations and (b) assess potential natural or unnatural influenza effects on modern military populations. The explosiveness and severity of 1918 influenza epidemics in military populations obstructed the implementation of even rudimentary medical countermeasures (patient isolation, supportive care and quarantine). Neither a vaccine nor drugs were available then to prevent influenza, alter its natural course and deal with sequelae.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA424300

Entities

People

  • Heidi E. Brown
  • John N. Bombardt Jr.

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Personnel
  • Birds
  • Employment
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Hygiene
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Public Health
  • Quarantine
  • Respiratory Tract Diseases
  • Therapy
  • Vaccines

Readers

  • Infectious Disease/Epidemiology
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology