Combating Infectious Diseases in the Military : Challenges and Future Directions

Emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19 and Zika, have posed significant challenges to military strategy and operations. Such challenges include mission disruption and health compromisation of military personnel. Existing solutions like rapid diagnostic tests (3.7 million were distributed to 63 countries in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic), social distancing, and vaccination campaigns have been extremely helpful. However, some weaknesses and areas for potential improvement have come to light in terms of combating pandemics. These include a lack of reliable virus-tracking systems and vaccine hesitancy. This research paper will delve into the existing solutions and possible improvements that can be made to them in order to better address the military community.