The four most frequently diagnosed vector-borne diseases among service member and non-service member beneficiaries in the geographic combatant commands, 2010-2022.

ABSTRACT

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) may pose an increased risk for U.S. service members during recurring military training exercises, operations, and response missions, in addition to residence in endemic regions within and outside the continental U.S. Prior MSMR reports address VBD surveillance, described by surveillance data for 23 reportable medical events (RMEs), among active duty and reserve component service members. This report covers a 13-year surveillance period, from January 2010 to December 2022, and provides linear trends of selected VBDs among Armed Forces service and non-service member beneficiaries diagnosed at installations within the Northern Command (NORTHCOM), Africa Command (AFRICOM), Central Command (CENTCOM), European Command (EUCOM), Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), or Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). Trends of only the 4 mostfrequently reported VBDs were evaluated, as Lyme disease, malaria, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), and dengue fever comprised 90% (n=5,199) of all 23 VBDs (n=5,750) among Military Health System (MHS) beneficiaries documented as RMEs during the surveillance period.