RESUMO
During 1983, a multinational military intervention took place on Grenada. After deployment, troops from several U.S. Army units noted signs and symptoms consistent with soil-transmitted helminthic infection. Of 684 soldiers screened five to seven weeks post-deployment, over 20% reported abdominal pain and/or diarrhea during or after the action. Eosinophilia of at least 10% was observed in 119 (22.5%) of 529 soldiers evaluated further; eosinophilia of 5-9% was documented in another 126 (23.8%) of the 529 soldiers. Stool examinations confirmed hookworm infection in 35 soldiers. One case of strongyloidiasis was also documented. Infection was attributed to ground exposure near homes with compromised sanitation. Units that joined the operation after the initial assault phase were at low risk of hookworm infection.
Assuntos
Surtos de Doenças , Infecções por Uncinaria/epidemiologia , Militares , Humanos , Masculino , Estados Unidos , Índias OcidentaisRESUMO
Because leptospirosis has been an important cause of morbidity in U.S. soldiers training in the Republic of Panama, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled field trial during the fall of 1982 to determine whether doxycycline was an effective chemoprophylactic agent against this infection. Doxycycline (200 mg) or placebo was administered orally on a weekly basis and at the completion of training to 940 volunteers from two U.S. Army units deployed in Panama for approximately three weeks of jungle training. Twenty cases of leptospirosis occurred in the placebo group (an attack rate of 4.2 per cent), as compared with only one case in the doxycycline group (attack rate, 0.2 per cent, P less than 0.001), yielding an efficacy of 95.0 per cent. This study demonstrated the value of doxycycline as a prophylactic drug against leptospirosis.
Assuntos
Doxiciclina/uso terapêutico , Leptospirose/prevenção & controle , Ensaios Clínicos como Assunto , Método Duplo-Cego , Doxiciclina/administração & dosagem , Humanos , Masculino , Medicina Militar , Zona do Canal do PanamáRESUMO
In November 1977, 627 soldiers belonging primarily to the First Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, stationed at Fort Bragg, were sent to the Canal Zone, Panama, for jungle warfare training. A medical surveillance program incorporating pre- and post-evaluations over a 6-month period with dermatologic examinations, questionnaires, and serologic tests was established. Ten cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (1.6/100 men) were diagnosed by positive Leishmania culture. The demonstrated lack of sensitivity and specificity of the indirect fluorescent antibody test and the direct agglutination test render these serological methods useless as diagnostic screening methods in the early stages of this disease.