personnel have been hired.  The AFIP also procured

evaluation of diagnostic assays, transfer of diagnostic

freezers for the long term centralized storage of

technology to U.S. military medical laboratories and

specimens of public health importance (e.g., specimens

other U.S. and international public health laboratories,

associated with significant clinical or epidemiologic

production and stockpiling of a wide variety of

outcomes but which are universally negative to tests

reagents, and outbreak response.  During FY 2001,

for known agents).  Implementation of the directory

over 1,500 assays were completed for patients and

is expected in the Spring of 2002.  The U.S. Army

animals being evaluated for infections with agents

Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease

such as hantaviruses, West Nile virus, and the

(USAMRIID) has unique public health laboratory

pathogens that cause anthrax, plague, ebola, and

capabilities.  DoD GEIS has helped USAMRIID

Venezuelan equine encephalitis.  Because none of

leverage its renowned research capabilities so as to

these assays has a sufficient commercial market to

maintain the capacity to provide DoD and the nation

encourage the expense of FDA approval, USAMRIID

with specialized public health services. These services

follows special testing requirements and reporting

usually are related to agents that must be handled at

procedures under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement

the BSL 3 or BSL 4 level.  DoD GEIS support

Act. Related training was coordinated for both in house

helped USAMRIID continue as a WHO reference

personnel and the Theater Area Medical Laboratory.

center for the hemorrhagic fever viruses and other

Outbreak investigations of West Nile infection and

arthropod borne viruses and helped USAMRIID

anthrax were supported also.

support diagnostic confirmation for lower level labs,

Respiratory Disease Surveillance and Capacity Building

Surveillance and respiratory diseases continue to be

the composition of the annual influenza vaccine.

an important focus of the DoD GEIS program.  A

This input supported the FDA and WHO decisions

highlighted effort in this regard is the ongoing operation

to continue to recommend inclusion of the

and expansion of the DoD Influenza Surveillance

AFIERA isolated H3N2 Panama strain influenza

System under the leadership of the Air Force Institute

virus in the 2001 2002 vaccine.  AFIERA made

for Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health

significant advances also in the dissemination of

Risk (AFIERA).  Operations are guided by a plan

their surveillance data via the World Wide Web.

developed at an annual meeting of the DoD Influenza

Reporting of global DoD surveillance data on the

Surveillance Working Group.  It is now a fully tri 

web was increased from monthly to twice weekly

service effort that also includes Army and Navy

(https://pestilence.brooks.af.mil/Influenza) and an

overseas labs as sources of specimens.  

improved presentation format with geographic infor 

mation system (GIS) drill down capability for assess 

Seventeen sentinel sites, 49 non sentinel sites, and

ments of world wide DoD influenza activity was

multiple DoD overseas labs submitted 3,702 specimens

introduced.  This may help direct scarce vaccine

for analysis during FY 2001.  Prominent observations

supplies to areas with the highest disease activity.

were that influenza B was almost equal in incidence

Through a DoD GEIS collaboration with the Uganda

to influenza A and that the circulating strains were

Virus Research Institute, arrangements were also

well matched to the 2000 2001 vaccine.  Once again,

made to have AFIERA become, starting in FY 2002,

in FY 2001 this program was only one of two efforts

one of the few recipients in the world of influenza

invited to present surveillance data to the FDA advisory

surveillance specimens from sub Saharan Africa.

committee that makes recommendations concerning

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