Impact of Illness and Non-Combat Injury During Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)

Abstract

Historically, non-combat injuries and illnesses have had a significant impact on military missions. We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey to assess the prevalence and impact of common ailments among U.S. military personnel deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan during 2003-2004. Among 15,459 persons surveyed, diarrhea (76.8% in Iraq and 54.4% in Afghanistan), respiratory illness (69.1%), non-combat injuries (34.7%), and leishmaniasis (2.1%) were commonly reported. For all causes, 25.2% reported that they required intravenous fluids, 10.4% required hospitalization, and 5.2% required medical evacuation. Among ground units, 12.7% reported that they missed a patrol because of illness, and among air units, 11.7% were grounded because of illness. The incidence of diarrhea and respiratory infections doubled from the pre-combat to combat phases, and the perceived adverse impact of these illnesses on the unit increased significantly during the combat phase. Despite technologic advances in warfare and preventive medicine, illness and non-combat injuries have been common during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting in frequent transient decreases in operational efficiency.

Physical comorbidities of post‐traumatic stress disorder in Australian Vietnam War veterans

“…Iraq or Afghanistan) rather than generally to the MEAO. [3], acute eosinophilic pneumonia [160], and other non-specific respiratory symptoms [66, 84,86,155]. Additionally, some of the most common environmental concerns identified by MEAO veterans have included smoke from oil fires, pollutants from incinerated waste, and particulate matter from sand and/or dust [3,86,160].…”

“…In the MEAO Hazard report, [61,62], food hygiene was identified as a potential risk factor for gastrointestinal symptoms and concerns about gastrointestinal problems have been documented in a number of reports on MEAO veterans [18,31,86,155]. Gastrointestinal symptoms and concerns are the most frequently cited health issues encountered during deployments to Iraq and to Afghanistan [31,86,155], yet investigations into related exposures and associated health outcomes are lacking in the military health literature.…”

Outbreak of Pertussis, Kabul, Afghanistan

“…To the Editor: Infectious diseases are the main cause of illness for armed forces in confl ict (1), resulting in decreases in operational effi ciency. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan is a multinational force operating under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).…”

Global Infectious Disease Surveillance at DoD Overseas Laboratories, 1999–2007

“…[37][38][39][40][41] GEIS partners at NAMRU-3 and WRAIR have additionally conducted revealing studies on the burden of diarrheal diseases among US and coalition troops in the Eurasian theater, recommending more aggressive empiric treatment. [11][12][13][14][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] Last, the DoD-GEIS network has supported the training of thousands of host-country scientists, epidemiologists, physicians, and laboratorians while simultaneously investing in physical laboratory capacity to extend the return on the local training. 52,53 Looking forward, DoD-GEIS expects the five DoD overseas laboratories discussed herein to continue in their current roles, conducting infectious disease surveillance of value to their various stakeholders and serving as health ambassadors around the globe.…”