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Page 14
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Field Studies
The capacity of AFRIMS to conduct field studies outside
of its laboratories in Bangkok is extensive. Currently,
several dozen field sites are in operation, staffed by personnel
from Bangkok as well as local paid and volunteer staff.
Infectious disease investigations can be initiated on short
notice and at any location in the country. To support field
investigations, AFRIMS has a fleet of over 20 vehicles,
appropriate specimen storage equipment (ultra-cold freezers
with generators, and liquid nitrogen storage systems), portable
centrifuges, and microscopes. Some of AFRIMS' field sites
have been in operation for more than a decade, bringing
sophisticated equipment to focal points of study. Good working
relationships within the Thai Ministry of Public Health,
the Royal Thai Army and at individual hospitals and clinics
all over Thailand, allow for mutually profitable collaborations
in studying diseases and medical products. AFRIMS' personnel
also travel throughout Southeast Asia to study diseases
of interest in Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
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The
AFRIMS study sites throughout Asia.
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Walter
Reed/AFRIMS Unit Nepal (WARUN)
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The
Department of Virology has worked in Nepal studying hepatitis
E virus (HEV) since 1987 and has maintained a field laboratory
in Kathmandu since August 1995. The focus of research for
this unit has been the epidemiology and pathophysiology
of HEV. HEV is a recently identified cause of enterically
transmitted viral hepatitis. Recent studies performed by
the WARUN laboratory have identified HEV as the major cause
of hospitalized jaundice in the region. Studies of incidence
and disease impact have included work with pregnant women,
families, expatriates living in Nepal, and member of the
Royal Nepalese Army. Other efforts have also included contributions
to Japanese encephalitis, influenza and other emerging disease
in the Kathmandu valley. Current efforts are directed towards
conducting phase I and II HEV vaccine trials.
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