Download Military Medicine - U.S. Military HIV Research Program

www.hivresearch.org
Building on a strong, product-oriented
research tradition, the U.S. Military is
pursuing a safe and effective HIV
vaccine to protect our Armed Forces
and reduce the global impact of HIV.
Military
Medicine:
Building on a
Tradition of
Success in
Infectious
Diseases
For over a century, the military medical community has solved significant
international health problems, particularly in the area of tropical infectious
diseases. Cutting edge vaccine development continues today in HIV,
malaria, dengue and enteric diseases.
The U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) is dedicated to HIV
vaccine development, prevention, disease surveillance and care and
treatment for HIV. Headed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
(WRAIR), the largest lab within the U.S. Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command and the lead agent in DoD infectious disease research,
MHRP builds on the established infrastructure and unique capabilities of the
U.S. Military.
Military Relevance
Historically, infectious diseases have had a major impact on U.S. Armed
Forces. In fact, more person-days were lost among U.S. Military personnel
due to malaria than to bullets during every military campaign fought in
malaria-endemic regions during the 20th century.
Dengue fever has had a negative impact on military operations dating back
as far as World War II, and soldiers have been plagued by diarrheal
diseases since before recorded history to modern day.
In the 1980s, HIV was identified as an infectious disease threat. Congress
initiated MHRP to develop effective preventive measures against HIV in the
U.S. and Allied Forces. With 33.2 million infections worldwide, HIV continues
to pose a significant and persistent threat in terms of readiness and force
protection, and may affect the stability and security of many nation-states.
The brisk pace of deployments throughout the world requires WRAIR to
develop products and capabilities with an international scope. Through a
highly-targeted program, MHRP is able to address military concerns
including:
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Developing a globally-effective HIV vaccine
Ensuring accurate HIV testing for the Army
Tracking the HIV epidemic in active-duty forces
Assessing risk of HIV exposure to U.S. and allied forces deployed
U.S. Military sponsored studies have produced:
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Antibiotic cures for typhoid and scrub typhus
New antimalarial drugs
Highly effective vaccines for meningococcal meningitis, encephalitis and adenovirus-caused
respiratory disease
www.hivresearch.org
Military Achievements
Infectious Disease and Vaccine Development
The military medical community has
stimulated some of medicine's
greatest advances, often during
wartime.
1777
The Continental Army is immunized
against smallpox per General George
Washington’s orders.
World War I (1914-1918)
A variety of medical techniques to
improve soldiers’ survival rates are
developed, including wound treatment,
blood transfusions, reconstructive
surgery and physical therapy.
Korean War (1950-1953)
The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
(MASH) is introduced. Hospital ships
equipped with helicopter landing pads
are introduced as a method for quickresponse medical attention, changing
the ships’ roles from medical transports
to floating hospitals.
1777
By command order, immunized first army against smallpox
1836
Developed effective treatment for malaria
1899
Discovered New World hookworm
1900
Identified mosquito as yellow fever vector
1907
Established filterable “virus” as cause of dengue
1909
Developed effective typhoid immunization
1934
Demonstrated efficacy of tetanus toxoid
1944
Differentiated Hepatitis A and B and established gamma globulin treatments
1947
Resolved scrub typhus transmission problems and introduced chloraphenicol treatment
1957
Isolated vaccine strain for Influenza A virus
1958
Unveiled cholera oral rehydration regimen dramatically reducing case mortality
1960
Developed attenuated vaccine against Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis
1962
Isolated rubella virus used to develop vaccines
1967
Developed adenovirus vaccine
1970
Developed polysaccharide vaccine against group C meningococci
1986
Demonstrated effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies in treatment of wound infections
1988
Demonstrated heterosexual contact as major route of HIV transmission
1990
Developed rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis meningitis
1991
Demonstrated efficacious Hepatitis A vaccine
1997
Conducted first HIV-1 trial with non-B protein
2002
Determined entire sequence of the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite
2003
Began largest Phase III study of HIV vaccine candidate begins in Thailand
2004
Performed pivotal research and efficacy testing on leading malaria vaccine candidate
2006
Characterized new circulating recombinant forms of HIV in E. Asia
2009
Approved Japanese encephalitis vaccine for use in Australia, Europe and the U.S.
Participated in the first Phase III trial of a malaria vaccine in Africa, and
Tested first HIV vaccine found to be safe and modestly effective in lowering rate of HIV
infection in humans
2013
Phase III study shows antibiotic cream treats cutaneous leishmaniasis with a high cure rate