Welcome to Health Surveillance NATO Conference 2012

Dear Colleagues,

Military Deployment Health Surveillance has gained significant importance throughout the last years. After recent experiences in the African theatres as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan the timely monitoring of health threats to soldiers in mission is of crucial importance for their ability to fight as well as for their wellbeing in theatre and quality of life back home. Real- or near real time surveillance techniques enable military commanders to react on e.g. infectious diseases’ outbreaks and to manage them accordingly. Modern surveillance techniques do not only identify threats caused by artificially released infectious agents but also support the management of naturally occurring events like the SARS or H1/N 1 flu outbreak in the past. During the last years laboratory based surveillance has been amended by approaches of syndromic surveillance. Meanwhile both complement each other, are implemented in the force health protection strategies of various countries and are based on an international civil-military expert network. On the NATO level the need for military deployment health surveillance expertise has led to the implementation of a Deployment Health Surveillance Capability (DHSC) in Munich, which is an integral part of the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (MILMED COE).

However, Deployment Health Surveillance is not exclusively restricted to infectious diseases but is also related to the large field of trauma care and all efforts to improve the treatment quality for physically or psychologically wounded soldiers.

The 2012 Munich conference on health surveillance for multinational military deployments will be organized by the US Armed Forces Health Surveillance Centre, the NATO MILMED COE, Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées (CESPA) and the German Society for Military Medicine and Pharmacy (GSMMP/DGWMP). It will address a broad field of related topics; give a forum to the international military and civilian experts to exchange their lessons and experiences and to encourage them to strengthen their network.

It would be our pleasure to welcome you in Munich attending our conference from the 26 – 28. June 2012.

Sincerely,

Col. (MC) Dr. Thomas Harbaum (DEU)
Conference Chairperson

NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (MILMED COE)

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Dear Colleagues and Friends,

For the military Public Health community, Deployment Health Surveillance is one of the main pilars of development and one of our first priorities. The French « Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées » (CESPA) has worked on this topic for many years. Among the tools we developed, the « Alerte et Surveillance en Temps Réel » (ASTER) system was created for French Armed Forces but also for NATO partners. We will be happy to present you during the Health Surveillance NATO Conference in Munich the last results and developments of this system and also to share our experiences with colleagues and friends. So I would like to warmly welcome everyone to this meeting and I am sure that it will be profitable for all involved NATO countries.

Col Xavier Deparis, MD, MPH
Deputy Director
Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées
Marseille, France
 

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Dear participants from home and abroad,

A very warm welcome to all of you to the first NATO Health Surveillance Conference in MUNICH!

This conference is organised by the German Society for Military Medicine and Pharmacy in BONN (GSMMP/DGWMP), together with the Bundeswehr Medical Academy in MUNICH (SanAkBw), the United States Armed Forces Health Surveillance Centre in SILVER SPRING (AFHSC), Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées  in MARSEILLE (CESPA) and the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Deployment Health Surveillance Capability in BUDAPEST (Nato MILMED COE DHSC).

As president of a Military Medical society with an almost 150 year long tradition I am happy to contribute to this international Conference. From war history we know, that infectious diseases among soldiers caused many times the loss of more lives than the battle itself. Prevention – and Health Surveillance is the most effective instrument – is even in contemporary war scenarios of greatest importance.

Thanks to modern communication systems, to advanced statistical methods, to out-break models and to a fast working biological detecting technology we have to learn, how to use these data and how to process them effectively for the military decision making process.

We expect from the expert speakers to pass on their knowledge. So, all participants have the great chance to update their knowledge in modern Health Surveillance methodology. And if we identify unsolved problems, we hope to draw not only the interest but also the support of military leaders to be able to develop future solutions.

I would be happy if at the end of the day, after an intensive exchange and discussion of our views and experience with colleagues from other countries, our contact net-work will be strengthened and ready to face challenges.

I wish the conference all success and hope you all enjoy your stay in MUNICH.

Dr. Christoph Veit, M.D.
Brigadier General (ret.)
President of the GSMMP/DGWMP

German Society for Military Medicine and Pharmacy in BONN (GSMMP/DGWMP)