Sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance, synonym epidemiological reconnaissance is a literal name of a concept and routine of finding out disease potential on a territory of arrival of major contingent. .Beliakov VD Military Epidemiology. Textbook in Russian. Leningrad, 1976 p152. This is a kind of medical

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

, process of information gathering on possible infectious diseases' origin-sources, the ways and factors of the infection transfer and determining all conditions that could have promoted the spread of

infestation Infestation is the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. It can also refer to the actual organisms living on or within a host. Terminology In general, the term "infestation" refers to parasitic diseases caused by animals su ...

among army service personnel. In 1939 Academician E.N.Pavlovsky announced his "doctrine of nidality", so called by Soviet biologists. People can acquire zoonoses and insect-borne diseases when they occupy at certain times of the year natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of a certain pathogen (e.g., plague,

tularemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium '' Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat ...

leptospirosis Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacterium ''Leptospira'' that can infect humans, dogs, rodents and many other wild and domesticated animals. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, Myalgia, muscle pains, a ...

arbovirus Arbovirus is an informal name for any virus that is Transmission (medicine), transmitted by arthropod Vector (epidemiology), vectors. The term ''arbovirus'' is a portmanteau word (''ar''thropod-''bo''rne ''virus''). ''Tibovirus'' (''ti''ck-''bo ...

es, tick-borne relapsing fever). The

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

Expert Committee on

Zoonoses A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a virus, bacterium, parasite, fungi, or prion) that can jump from a non-human vertebrate to a human. When h ...

listed over 100 such diseases. About natural focality of the diseases is known elsewhere.

History

Historically,

Sanitary Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

epidemiological Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

implied collection and transfer of all data available on

sanitary Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

and

situation of the area of possible deployment and action of

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

, the same data for the neighbouring and enemy armed forces. The aim for the

was to clear up the reasons of the specific disease origin—sources of the

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

in various extreme situations, including local

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

s and

armed conflict War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

s, the ways of the infection transfer and all factors promoting to the

. This practice has been successfully used on plague-endemic territory at the time of the Soviet–Japanese War (1945) in WWII : "Sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance was organized and conducted continuously for the entire depth of the operation. Mobile sanitary epidemiological detachments followed immediately behind the first echelon of tanks and mechanized vehicles of advancing

Soviet army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

should they encounter any particular

contagious disease A contagious disease is an infectious disease that can be spread rapidly in several ways, including direct contact, indirect contact, and droplet contact. These diseases are caused by organisms such as parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. ...

. Withdrawing enemy forces had poisoned many wells and water sources". After the armed forces have become stationary during wartime and emergency of peace time the sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance turns into sanitary and epidemiological

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

and medical control of vital and communal activity of the armed forces.Beliakov VD Military Epidemiology. Textbook in Russian. Leningrad, 1976 p153.

Difference from Epidemic Intelligence Service

Sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance as a practice has nothing in common with the Epidemic Intelligence Service as an educational program of the United States'

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

(CDC). The latter was established in 1951 by Alexander Langmuir, due to

biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...

concerns arising from the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, it has become a hands-on two-year postgraduate training program in

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

International recognition

The use of sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance or similar practices in the armed forces is mentioned elsewhere. The Polish contingents serving under the UN auspices focused their tasks among others on ... sanitary-epidemiological reconnaissance ... . The similar practice is recognized by the

and Australia while encompassing chemical, radiological hazards as well. They call it "All-hazards approach"

US Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

in the page 300 of its manual in admits existence of other surveillance systems calling them "early-warning systems of disease potential" with the aim to collect data on indicators of disease or disease potential: animal population (animal morbidity and mortality by a disease that can affect humans, the presence of a disease agent in wild and domestic sentinel animals, vectors of a disease) and environmental data.

Conduction of the reconnaissance

There is a definite need in mobile sanitary-epidemiological groups, trained and equipped for the task. Any group for sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance includes:

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases. It is a cornerstone ...

, specialist on infections, assistant of epidemiologist (

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology— a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

- lab assistant), medical orderly (if necessary, the group will include

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

or parasitologist). These units should be formed up in the deployable medical set-ups. Sanitary-epidemiological reconnaissance should result in revealing of the patients and persons, suspected to the specific disease, their isolation and hospitalization. A sanitary-epidemiological kit is constructed, consisting of two separate units, but each adaptable to use with the other: a portable laboratory kit and a portable combination lab apparatus. The two units can be useful in the work of epidemiologists during sanitary-epidemiological reconnaissance and sanitary epidemiological surveys.Christova, A. S.; Stoyachev, N. N. PORTABLE SANITARY-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL KIT ARMY BIOLOGICAL LABS FREDERICK MD http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0677078

In the 21st century

In 2010 at The Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and Their Destruction in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

the sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance was suggested as well-tested means for enhancing the monitoring of infections and parasitic agents, for practical implementation of the

International Health Regulations The International Health Regulations (IHR), first adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1969 and last revised in 2005, are legally binding rules that only apply to the WHO that is an instrument that aims for international collaboration "to prev ...

(2005). The aim was to prevent and minimize the consequences of natural outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases as well as the threat of alleged use of biological weapons against BTWC States Parties. It is pointed out the significance of the sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance in assessing the sanitary-epidemiological situation, organizing and conducting preventive activities, indicating and identifying pathogenic biological agents in the environmental sites, conducting laboratory analysis of biological materials, suppressing hotbeds of infectious diseases, providing advisory and practical assistance to local health authorities. Sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance (inspection) or a similar practice and specific indication in the hotbed should be performed immediately after the receiving of the information about bio-terrorism attack. There were compiled the principles of organization of sanitary epidemiological reconnaissance and criteria for evaluating the sanitary epidemiological status of arms force and regions of their dislocation.

History

Difference from Epidemic Intelligence Service

International recognition

Conduction of the reconnaissance

In the 21st century

References

Further reading