Militaries share dengue knowledgeThe fight against dengue and other diseases might be an unseen war but it is just as important as dominating the battlefield.
Speaking at the International Military Conference on Dengue and other Arboviruses, Colonel (COL) (DR) Tang Kong Choong, Chief of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Medical Corps, said: "Dengue and other arthropod-borne viruses such as Chikungunya, Japanese Encephalitis and most recently, Zika, affect the Asia-Pacific region with substantial impact on health, military training and operations.
"Sometimes it's difficult to tell soldiers to use repellent, roll down their sleeves and sleep under a net. But if we don't do these things, the fighting strength of a unit can be severely reduced."
The three-day conference, which began on 8 Mar, brought together about 60 healthcare professionals and military medicine practitioners from 12 countries in the region.
Though dengue is concentrated in the tropical regions of the world, temperate countries are not spared. Even the Himalayan country of Nepal has seen cases of dengue and malaria.
"Mosquito-borne illnesses are a challenge to military forces around the world. The worldwide spread of dengue is perhaps more widespread and severe than anticipated," said Rear-Admiral (RADM) Colin Chinn.
"That's why conferences like these are so important," said RADM Chinn, who is Command Surgeon, United States Pacific Command (US PACOM).
During the conference, industry experts provided updates on the latest developments in vaccines and disease control measures. Each participating country took turns to share knowledge on disease control in their territories.
The participants also visited the Environmental Health Institute, the national laboratory in Singapore that conducts research and surveillance on vector-borne diseases.
"The conference is a good opportunity to learn from my colleagues around the region, and the talks are very enlightening," said COL (Dr) Syed Edi Sazaly Bin Syed Haidzir.
As someone who has had dengue before, he understands the pain of recovery. "Even the most mild forms (of dengue) require a few days of rest. In the military, (mass infections) would reduce the fighting force and that is a concern." He is a practising clinician based in a military hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he is a respiratory specialist.
Said Brigadier-General (Dr) Chan Davaruth, from the Cambodian Armed Forces, who is Deputy Director of the Department of Health in Cambodia: "There are dengue outbreaks every four years or so in Cambodia and the information shared here will be useful to our efforts in reducing the number of cases.
"It's important that we talk about this so that we can learn from each other. I will be sharing what we learnt here with my colleagues back in Cambodia."
The conference, held at the National University of Singapore, was co-hosted by the SAF Medical Corps and US PACOM. It is supported by the Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore.
http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/resourcel...ml#.VueCPkJ967M 
Military Thread V20 
Mar 15 2016, 08:23 AM
Quote
0.0268sec
0.49
6 queries
GZIP Disabled