Courtesy Photo | Service members set up mosquito traps during biosurveillance at Talisman Sabre 2025 in...... read more read more
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The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research – Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences conducted disease surveillance in support of exercise Talisman Sabre from 5 May to 11 May in Queensland, Australia.
Talisman Sabre is a biennial exercise conducted by the Australian Defence Force and the United States that involved participation from 13 nations including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Indonesia, and Japan. The training exercise is designed to improve the interoperability and readiness of the allied nations and enhance their collective capabilities to potential security concerns.
WRAIR-AFRIMS supported the exercise by conducting three forms of disease surveillance: collecting and screening rodents and mites for vector-borne disease, testing water and soil samples for disease-causing bacteria, and screening military equipment for bacteria that cause skin infections.
“A lot of the health risks that can emerge during large-scale exercises are easy to prevent and treat – but only if you know they’re there,” said Maj. Brian Vesely, Chief of Joint Lab Operations at WRAIR-AFRIMS. “We do the vector surveillance before the exercise and send mites back to the lab for full analysis to look for disease threats.”
WRAIR-AFRIMS’s vector surveillance revealed that rodents in the area had Scrub Typhus, a disease caused by bacteria spread through the bites of infected mites. The results were shared with force protection leadership to inform prevention and intervention strategies during and after the exercise.
Scrub Typhus has a long latency, which makes it easy to miss in an infected person. However, the disease can lead to severe complications that include death. WRAIR-AFRIMS identified the presence of the disease in the exercise, so that service members know to take preventative measures and monitor for symptoms.
“By integrating vector, environmental, and equipment surveillance, WRAIR-AFRIMS not only protects force health and boosts readiness but also strengthens our partnerships across the Indo-Pacific,” said Vesely. “Identifying threats before they emerge is our best defense in keeping service members safe.”
To learn more about WRAIR-AFRIMS such as our disease surveillance and other capabilities, visit the website at https://afrims.health.mil/
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2025 11:39 |
| Story ID: | 500790 |
| Location: | AU |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, WRAIR-AFRIMS protects force health at Talisman Sabre 2025, by Zeke Gonzalez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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