Deployed Warfighter Protection Research Program: Finding New Methods to Vanquish Old Foes (The United States Army Medical Department Journal, April-June 2008)

摘要

The Deployed Warfighter Protection research program (DWFP) is an initiative to develop and validate novel methods to protect United States military deployed abroad from threats posed by disease-carrying insects. Vector- borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, and chikungunya are among the most important health risks facing deployed troops. There are no vaccines for many diseases transmitted by biting insects, so methods in insect management and control, as well as personal protection, are the primary tools available to protect troops. During and following World War II, scientists from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) were regularly funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop new methods and materials for controlling biting insects, particularly those that transmit diseases to humans. This highly successful collaboration produced tools that are still part of our insect- control arsenal today. Examples include: Deet (N,N-diethyl-3-methyl-benzamide), the primary ingredient in the majority of insect repellents available today. Ultra low volume application of insecticides, a methodology that distributes a limited amount of chemical per acre by optimizing the dispersion and concentration of size-limited droplets, now the standard method used by spray trucks deployed to protect neighborhoods against mosquitoes. Permethrin- impregnated fabrics for personal protection against the bites of ticks, mosquitoes, and other blood-feeding flying insects. Permethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insect repellent that is used to treat uniforms, bed nets, tentage, and other fabrics.