Vector-borne pathogens—or diseases transmitted by primarily ticks, mosquitoes or sandflies—a present a significant health risk to Service Member readiness and lethality as well as public health. WRAIR E-ME surveils vector-borne disease in arthropod populations, providing specimens for pathogen discovery efforts to partner organizations like public health entities,
U.S. European Command, the
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the
Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit and
U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. WRAIR E-ME also supports military exercises within Georgia and the broader European command, providing vector surveillance and pathogen detection information to equip medical providers to understand disease threats in theater.
WRAIR E-ME’s program focuses primarily on force health protection efforts within the EUCOM area of responsibility, conducting vector surveillance with a particular focus on tick-borne pathogens like tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever; mosquito-borne pathogens like West Nile virus and sandfly-borne diseases like leishmaniasis. Geo-tagging and threat mapping of these disease vectors provides enhanced resolution on regional vector-borne threats, allowing public health and command surgeons a greater understanding of existing and novel diseases within their areas of responsibility.