Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Incidence of zoonotic diseases in military working dogs serving in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
- Journal:
- Military medicine
- Year:
- 2001
- Authors:
- Burkman, K D et al.
- Affiliation:
- Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Division · Japan
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 118 military working dogs were sent to the Persian Gulf. A study looked at their medical records to see if they had any infectious or parasitic diseases that could potentially be passed to humans. It found that over half of the visits to the vet were for health issues, and about 21% of those were for conditions that could be of concern to the soldiers. However, the study did not confirm if any diseases were actually passed between the dogs and the troops, and there was no evidence of new or returning illnesses in these dogs. Overall, the treatment did not reveal any significant health threats from zoonotic diseases in this group of military dogs.
Abstract
The United States deployed 118 military working dogs (MWDs) to the Persian Gulf theater during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This study is a retrospective descriptive study of medical records of these deployed dogs, with the objective to determine whether there were infectious or parasitic diseases with a zoonotic potential in a sentinel population of MWDs that may be of concern to Persian Gulf veterans. Fifty-one percent of visits to veterinary treatment facilities during deployment were for illness or injury. Potential zoonotic conditions accounted for 21% of the total visits, 41% of the "sick-call" visits, and 63% of presentations for illness to veterinary treatment facilities. This study did not determine whether the diseases treated were transmitted between MWDs and the troops. Although the etiologic agents were not determined in these cases, no evidence was found supporting new or reemerging illnesses in this population of dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11272705/