Military Diseases and Conditions of Interest

​​What's New? 

• Updated ​Military Reportable Medical Events (RMEs) Poster​ (Aug 2023): this quick reference helps staff in military medical facilities remember what conditions need to be reported in DRSi (see below) for military public health notification and surveillance. The 2023 Poster changes to the previous (2020) version include: there are now 71 conditions listed - includes the addition of Babesiosis, COVID-19 Associated Hospitalization or Death, and *Lead Poisoning (Pediatric) events. The (Oct 2022) Armed Forces Reportable Medical Events ​Guidelines and Case Definitions​ document provides the​ specific reporting guidance for 70 conditions, while the *guidance for Lead Poisoning (Pediatric) events is contained in the AFHSD Lead Poisoning, Pediatric reporting guidance (made a reportable event in 2022, guidance updated 2021 to address CDC's updated 3.5 ug/dL blood lead level). ​

• Alert for clinicians in Southern states: Locally Acquired Malaria in Florida and Texas (June-July 2023)​ 

• Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV): a respiratory disease of concern in the 2022 fall season, especially with ongoing cases of COVID and flu 
  

• Article: Army promotes infection prevention by monitoring disease cases​​ (2022) 
  

• Monkeypox                

• ​Military Disease surveillance reports: see trends of certain diseases occurring at military installations 
  

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Military health system data is monitored for several infectious diseases that especially impact the military population and can detract from military readiness - this is referred to as disease surveillance. 

Disease surveillance can help identify potential clusters or outbreaks among Service Members and beneficiaries. This helps to identify ways to limit the spread and severity of disease outbreaks, as well as ways to prevent future occurrences. 

Surveillance data is primarily from the Disease Reporting Surveillance internet system, or DRSi, which military medical facilities are required to use to capture all cases that meet the criteria of a Reportable Medical Event, or RME. It is important that medical facilities report cases to this system to ensure accurate data about disease trends. 

While data for diseases such as COVID, sexually transmitted infections and monkeypox are not publicly accessible, military disease surveillance reports are available for: 

• ​Acute Respiratory Diseases​ 
  
• Seasonal Influenza 
  
• Vector-Borne Diseases (e.g., includes tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease and Rickettsia, mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, and diseases such as Typhus fever spread by fleas, lice and chiggers)