Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) education and HIV risk behavior: a survey of rapid deployment troops.

A paper-and-pencil questionnaire was administered to 1,377 U.S. Army troops from rapid deployment units at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This yielded 1,368 surveys available for analysis. The primary goal of the survey was to evaluate this group's experience with the Army human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) education program and to determine their level of HIV risk behaviors as related to participation in the Army's HIV education program. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents (1,052 of 1,368) reported receiving some HIV education from the Army. Of those, 55% (578 of 1,052) reported receiving 1 hour of education within the past year. Soldiers of Asian, Native American, and "other" race/ethnicity, and to a lesser extent, Hispanic background, were more likely to report receiving no HIV education compared with whites and African Americans. Self-reported receipt of HIV education did not strongly differentiate individuals in their partner selection or in key sexual risk behaviors in which they engaged.

Risk factors for sexually-transmitted diseases among deployed U.S. military personnel.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Information regarding risk factors for STD transmission is needed to assist in designing and evaluating prevention and control programs for US military populations. GOAL OF THIS STUDY: To obtain STD risk factor data among deployed U.S. military personnel. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire survey was administered to military personnel deployed aboard ship for six months to South America, West Africa, and the Mediterranean during 1989-1991. RESULTS: Among 1,744 male subjects (mean age, 23 years; 71% white; 96% enlisted), 49% reported prior sexual contact with a prostitute and 22% reported a history of a STD before deployment. During the subsequent six-month deployment, 42% reported sexual contact with a prostitute, 10% reported inconsistent use of condoms, and 10% acquired a new STD. By logistic regression analysis, sexual contact with a prostitute during deployment was independently associated with young age, nonwhite race/ethnicity, and being unmarried or divorced; inconsistent use of condoms was associated with Hispanic race/ethnicity. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that deployed U.S. military personnel frequently engage in high-risk sexual behavior and that there is a continued need for comprehensive and culturally-sensitive STD prevention programs.

HIV preventive medicine services and public health interventions: the Bethesda experience.

A basic Public Health approach to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic has been considered by many to be the most appropriate initial strategy against the spread of this infection. Comprehensive Preventive Medicine services were implemented at Naval Hospital Bethesda, which utilized a sexually transmitted disease (STD) model and included: counseling and education; sexual contact interviews and spouse evaluations; Blood Bank Look Back tracking of donated blood; reporting of notifiable diseases; and screening of transfusion recipients, STD cases, and other at-risk populations. This coordinated approach is highly efficient and capable of evaluating the increasing numbers of HIV-positive individuals.

Evaluation of febrile patients in Port Sudan, Sudan: isolation of dengue virus.

One hundred consecutive patients admitted to the Port Sudan Hospital with a temperature greater than or equal to 100 degrees F were evaluated. Enteric fever was diagnosed in 19 patients and malaria in 13. Virologic studies identified 21 cases of dengue infection. One dengue 1 and 17 dengue 2 infections were diagnosed by viral isolation. Three untyped dengue infections were identified serologically. The clinical presentation and course of patients infected with dengue virus were most consistent with classic dengue fever. There was no evidence of hemorrhagic phenomena or shock in any of the dengue-infected patients. Both dengue 1 and 2 must be considered causes of acute fever in East Africa.