Preventive medicine saving lives
Navy Lt. Marcus McDonough (left) and Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Adrian Weldon, assigned to Navy Environmental and Preventative Medicine Unit TWO, prepare a BG-Sentinel mosquito trap outside the Franklin D. Roosevelt School during Continuing Promise 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brianna K. Green)
PUERTO CORTES, Honduras — The ability to shower in a remote campground, or shave every morning in a plastic storage container or walk on dry sand because of proper drainage are all luxuries made possible by the Continuing Promise 2018 Forward Deployed Preventive Medicine Unit.
Public health is an essential part of daily life, in and out of the military. Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit 2 performs many tasks to help protect the Sailors and Soldiers, as well as the local community during CP18.
"Public health is a critical part of any mission, because if troops are sick, they cannot complete the mission," said Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Adriane Weldon, who is assigned to NEPMU 2 in Norfolk, Virginia. "Educating the public really does help lessen the transmission and spread of diseases, as well as build a bond between nations."
Public health covers a wide range of necessities such as water purification, epidemiology, parasitology, food-borne illnesses, and berthing and food inspections.
"This is really a team effort here," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Amy Rogers, officer in charge of the Forward Deployed Preventative Medicine Unit. "We have a physician, an entomologist, environmental health officer and three preventative medicine technicians."
The team began their mission in Honduras by coordinating meetings with local hospitals. Then, they gathered a list of needs and organized trainings accordingly.
Rogers explained the impact is more than one or two patients, it's about the larger population and sustaining preventive measures like the use of bug spray or proper hand washing and sanitation measures.
The team hosted an interactive table with microscopes and specimens such as a scorpion, mosquitoes and houseflies. They went a step further and explained how children can minimize standing water, which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Furthermore, during black-flag weather conditions, the team set up two BG-Sentinel mosquito traps around an open grass field behind the Franklin D. Roosevelt school in Puerto Cortes, to trap day-biting mosquitoes.
"Day-biting mosquitoes spread many of the epidemic diseases we are trying to prevent," said Weldon. "This area is a great place to catch mosquitoes because the temperature, climate and extended period of time that it's warm."
Mosquitoes have a hard time flying against the wind, so the traps consist of a fan and catch net. The bait is a clear tube filled with small blue pebbles made of human hormone derivatives and scents, which mosquitoes cannot resist. Once they enter the trap to explore the scent, they are unable to fly out against the fan.
"Once we catch the mosquitoes, we usually freeze them," said Weldon. "We then identify the females by species so we can determine if they're carrying any diseases."
Weldon went on to say that this area is very high in malaria and Zika, testing here provides a great deal of valuable knowledge that helps the team educate the public on how to minimize the risk of transmission.
"A lot of our job is learning and sharing that knowledge with the host nation," said Rogers. "That's why it's so great having a team with all different specialties, so we can communicate things from disaster response to mosquito safety and preventive measures."
Disclaimer: Re-published content may have been edited for length and clarity. Read original post.
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