Executive Agencies

The mission of the DoD Lyme Disease Program is to maximize the ability for Army units and installations to protect the Soldier from the health threats posed by tick-borne diseases.

Added Value: With over 850 recognized species worldwide, ticks are among the most important of all arthropod vectors of disease. Worldwide, ticks are second only to mosquitoes in the number of diseases they transmit to humans. Tick-borne pathogens appear to be in the vanguard of a group of newly emerging diseases such as: Lyme disease, human monocytic ehrlichiosis, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, and human babesiosis. The death of a Soldier from human monocytic ehrlichiosis, acquired while training at a CONUS installation in 1999, highlights the seriousness of these tick-borne illnesses. Other serious tick-borne threats include: tick-borne encephalitis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever. Because large numbers of military personnel are frequently exposed to heavily tick-infested areas during training and deployment throughout the world, there is an increased potential for tick-borne diseases to make an early appearance in this population.

Relationship to Readiness: Soldiers sent to training areas prior to deployment and while at deployment sites, where tick-borne diseases are present, are subject to the acute and chronic symptoms that accompany these diseases and will often be unfit for duty thereby reducing the readiness of that unit.