Preventative medicine: more than meets the eye

Photo By Bethany Huff | Bill Patsch, vector controller, Kellogg, Brown and Root, sets up a trap behind the laundry facility at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, to try to catch animals. Patsch sets traps every night and checks them at first light the following day.  

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

07.23.2009

Story by Pfc. Bethany Huff 

Multi-National Division-South

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq — Many jobs are overlooked and underappreciated even though the fruits of their labor are evident all around. For example, the small preventive medicine staff at Forward Operating Base Kalsu helps keep service members safe.

"We do a lot of different things here and other locations," said Spc. Matthew B. Hintermaier, preventive medicine technician, Company C, 172nd Support Battalion. "We help protect the forward operating bases from food-borne, water-borne and vector-borne diseases."

To protect the residents of the FOB, the preventive medicine team conducts a variety of tests and studies, including monitoring insect populations and water sampling.

"We keep a water log to check for escherichia coli, phiclgrhme and mineral levels," said Hintermaier, an Anne Arbor, Mich., native. "To determine if the water is usable for humans, we look at the military exposure guidelines for acceptable contamination levels."

The military exposure guideline is designed to allow commanders to conduct risk assessments and determine acceptable levels of chemical exposure in a deployed environment.

A bigger part of a preventive medicine team's job is to protect residents from insects and the possible diseases they carry.

"Here on this FOB, there are three different types of mosquitoes and one type of sand flea or sand fly. Both can be dangerous to humans," said Hintermaier.

To protect the people on the FOB, the preventive medicine team sets up light traps to attract mosquitoes and sand flies at 12 different sites which have a high concentration of people. Set up at night and retrieved in the morning, the traps are then placed in a freezer to be sorted later.

When the preventive medicine team finishes sorting the specimens, they send the samples to Baghdad to be tested. The traps are set up and sorted three times a week to ensure the safety of the FOB residents.

If any threat is found from the sampling, preventive medicine contacts vector control and informs them where the threat is located. Chemical pesticide is then used at night to fog the area.

Residents can protect themselves from mosquitoes and sand flies by wearing the proper clothing and using insect repellent on exposed skin.

Insects are not preventative medicine's only concern on the FOB. They also work with vector control to maintain the animal and vermin population here. Animals found on the FOB include cats, dogs, porcupines, hedgehogs, snakes, jungle cats, foxes and rabbits.

Preventive medicine's job may seem like an easy one, but there is a lot of hard work involved in what they do.

"We go to several different FOBs and work all over the Blackhawk area of operation," said Hintermaier. Preventive medicine travels to patrol bases and joint contracting command posts, and larger FOBs like Echo, Scania, Delta and Rio Hillah.

Preventive medicine also conducts inspections in various areas of the FOBs, watching for possible health risks such as food contamination, safety hazards and the cleanliness of an area.

Areas inspected include dining facilities, eateries, barbershops and gyms.

Many things residents may take for granted are taken care of by the preventive medicine team. By educating the command and showcasing their expertise, the preventive medicine team hopes to make an impact on keeping personnel safe.

• Date Taken: 07.23.2009
• Date Posted: 07.23.2009 03:57
• Story ID: 36695
• Location: ISKANDARIYAH, IQ