Medical Surveillance Monthly Report (MSMR). Volume 2, Number 7, September 1996
Abstract
Following a joint training exercise at Ft Bragg (Operation "Purple Star") and Camp Lejeune (Operation "Royal Dragon"), twenty-eight British paratroopers from a unit of 400 (7%) developed a rash illness of unknown etiology. The total contingency involved in the joint exercise, which took place between 25 April and 20 May 1996, included approximately 10,000 soldiers. Only one British unit developed symptoms; there were no reported cases among U.S. soldiers who participated in the exercise. The epidemiologist/microbiologist at the Royal Haslar Hospital, in conjunction with the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC), conducted an outbreak investigation and determined that two distinct types of skin rashes were involved, with the date of onset of symptoms approximately 5 June 1996. Preliminary data from a questionnaire was analyzed and it was determined that The affected soldiers parachuted into the Camp Mackall area located on Ft Bragg and bivouacked around the Luzon Drop Zone, a heavily forested area. Nymphal ticks were removed by some of the British soldiers, all of whom carried tick identification cards and were instructed in the use of permethrin-impregnated uniforms. Three soldiers had a febrile illness associated with a petechial rash resembling Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) and the remaining 25 soldiers had a rash described as a localized, expanding circular rash, similar to erythema migrans (EM). The involved soldiers were treated with Doxycycline 200 mg daily for 14 days. All clinical cases had serological tests for a variety of possible infective agents including Lyme, RMSF, Ehrlichia, and Leptospira. Only one specimen was found positive for RMSF. All serological tests for Borrelia burgdorferi (tickborne spirochete causing Lyme disease) were negative. The final results of the data analysis are pending and a case-control study to delineate other risk factors is underway.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA497675
Entities
People
- Bill C. Hewitson
- Bruce H. Jones
- Cynthia R. Towle
- John Brundage
- Mark V Rubertone
- Sharon L. Ludwig
- Stephen C. Craig
Organizations
- Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center