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Military.com Uncovers Epidemic of Adenovirus at Training Centers Nationwide

Military Out of Vaccine that Could Have Prevented

Adenovirus-Related Illnesses

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The following has been issued by

Military.com's staff writer Trimble:

An epidemic of minor respiratory illnesses is gripping boot camps across the

country -- and there's no vaccine left, military medical researchers say.

Scientists at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego blame both the

tiny adenovirus and poor planning by military health officials. The Pentagon

stopped buying the vaccine several years ago, and the manufacturer has ceased

production. The final doses were administered last year.

Now, adenovirus-related illnesses are striking service members at training

centers, including a spring outbreak that sickened 130 recruits at Fort

Benning, Ga. Most victims endure cold or flu-like symptoms for three or four

days. The infections are rarely deadly, but some soldiers have recorded

fevers of 107 degrees.

In July, a team of Navy researchers led by Capt. Greg Gray presented a report

on the situation to officials at the Institute of Medicine. The results may

have been news to the federal advisory body, but not to many military

doctors.

" Those of us in the preventive medicine community saw this coming for a long

time, " said Army Maj. Alsip, a doctor at Fort Benning.

Gray, a medical scientist, is studying the outbreak at the Naval Health

Research Center in San Diego. He and others warned about the disease as far

back as 1995, when Pentagon officials decided not to continue buying the

vaccine from its former supplier, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories.

After inoculating troops steadily since the mid-1970s, the military used up

its remaining adenovirus vaccine stocks last year. Because no production

lines are open, no more can be obtained for at least three years, said Gray,

who in September will publish his findings in a medical journal.

Pentagon spokesman had no comment at press time on Aug. 3.

Wyeth-Ayerst public affairs officials did not return phone calls.

Breeding ground

Adenovirus infections now account for 90 percent of all viral infections

treated by military hospitals, Gray said. The outbreaks have reached epidemic

levels -- defined as 1.5 cases per 100 people per week -- at several military

installations.

Densely-packed boot camps are the most common targets, Gray said. His team of

researchers is monitoring epidemics at Fort Benning; Fort , S.C.; Fort

Leonard Wood, Mo.; Lackland Air Force Base, Texas; Naval Training Center

Great Lakes, Ill. and Coast Guard's training station at Cape May, N.J. Cases

have been also reported at the Marine Corps' Parris Island, N.C., and the

Army's Fort Sill, Okla.

Cramped conditions make it especially easy for the virus to spread in boot

camp barracks. It was no shock to Alsip when scores of Fort Benning recruits

suddenly fell ill last spring. The rapid outbreak, which afflicted 130

soldiers in a single battalion in a week, forced the post's beleaguered

hospital staff to convert a barracks into a makeshift infirmary.

Good hygiene can help prevent the spread, as do clean rooms and fresh air.

" The disease itself is fairly benign, " Alsip said, " but in the context of a

training unit, it can really be disruptive. "

Boot camp doctors must sweat out the intervening period, knowing the next

outbreak could strike their troops and disrupt training schedules.

" You can make sure there is a constant vigilance, but there's a limit to what

you can do without a primary treatment, which is the vaccine, " Alsip said.

Another troubled vaccine program

The adenovirus outbreaks come as military brass struggle with another

troubled vaccine program: anthrax. In July, defense secretary Cohen

announced a slowdown anthrax shots after a private supplier failed a second

inspection by the Food and Drug Administration.

Several senators soon asked Pentagon officials why they relied on private,

profit-seeking vaccine suppliers instead of producing their own vaccine. The

officials replied that creating an internal production line could take at

least six years.

Gray expects the adenovirus to threaten military boot camps for several

years. So what -- besides maintaining general hygiene -- can recruits do to

avoid getting sick?

" That's the $64,000 question, " Alsip said. " There isn't a lot to prevent this

that is as good as the vaccine. "

Copyright © 2000 Military.com

Reach Trimble at stephent@....

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