"This will be a long war if for every division I have facing the enemy, I must count on a second division in the hospital with malaria and a third division convalescing from this debilitating disease."           GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

          The prevention of disease is vital to the success of military missions. Infectious diseases are a significant threat to the fighting strength of our Armed Forces and historically, are the major cause of casualties in all wars. Troops deployed to new geographic areas may encounter pathogens for which they are immunologically naive. In World War II (WWII), quinine, an antimalarial drug was available only to the Allies and proved to be a decisive factor in many battles fought with the Japanese in the Pacific theater of operations. General MacArthur's lament would likely to be applicable for American units today with the growing threat of drug resistant malaria. Malaria continues to pose a major threat to U.S. soldiers and citizens traveling to the region. Scrub typhus, a rickettsial disease was an important cause of serious disease and death in WWII. Once again, scrub typhus may pose a threat to military personnel as Thai and American AFRIMS researchers have recently identified a resurgent threat--that of antibiotic resistant isolates in northern Thailand.