Somalia operation just one of many demands on US military medicine
Article Abstract:
Many of the estimated 14,000 US Armed Forces physicians have been very busy in the post-Cold War period. Approximately 50 military physicians are with the troops of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. Army physicians opened a 60-bed mobile hospital in Zagreb to serve the UN peacekeeping troops in the areas that were Yugoslavia. More than 60 doctors support the troops enforcing the no-fly zone in Iraq. Military doctors are helping rebuild Kuwait's medical services in the wake of the Persian Gulf War. In addition to the threat of violence, military doctors are also exposed to various diseases and pests that are relatively rare in the US, including malaria, yellow fever and cholera. Consequently, they are vaccinated against most preventable diseases and are urged to maintain good hygiene and watch what they eat and drink. If the number of active Air Force, Navy and Army personnel is reduced, military doctors will still be needed to care for retired servicemen and women and their families.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
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Extraordinary epidemiologic, environmental health experience emerges from Operation Restore Hope
Article Abstract:
The United Nations plans to invest over $1 billion and up to two years in rebuilding the infrastructure, including health services, of Somalia. While Operation Restore Hope is thought to have saved thousands of people from starvation, numerous diseases continue to plague the health of this war-ravaged nation. Particularly threatening are acute diarrheal diseases, Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever, tuberculosis and malaria. There is no way to accurately determine the extent of these diseases because there has been no medical establishment to collect such data for more than two years. The main infections that affected US troops during Restore Hope were malaria, dengue and diarrheal diseases. Lessons learned during Operation Desert Storm aided the practice of military medicine during Operation Restore Hope. These include the importance of drug therapy for the prevention of malaria, the avoidance of alcohol and the prevention of dehydration.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
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For military medicine, 'nothing in the world constant but inconstancy.'(Medical News & Perspectives)
Article Abstract:
The role of military physicians may be changing in the future, according to participants at the 103rd Annual Meeting of the Association of Military Surgeons of the US. Military physicians must care for soldiers and their families, but they are also responding to natural disasters, terrorist attacks and peace-keeping missions. Military physicians are more likely to be accepted by other countries in crisis because they are less threatening than soldiers. They also have professional counterparts in foreign countries.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1996
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