Armed Forces Pest Management Board

09/04/2026

At BALTOPS 2026 in Latvia, some of the most important threat detection happened in the grass around camp.

Army entomologists and microbiologists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research conducted infectious disease and vector surveillance to protect the force during the Baltic exercise. Using tick drags — a white sheet pulled across vegetation to mimic a passing animal — the team collected 10 ticks in one survey, most concentrated in a single area, which pinpointed the highest-risk zone in camp. A portable PCR platform let the team identify respiratory and GI pathogens from patient samples in about an hour.

The findings reinforced prevention basics that work anywhere ticks do:

-Use approved repellents such as DEET
-Wear uniforms properly
-Do buddy checks and daily tick checks
-Remove standing water and keep vegetation cut

Source:

WRAIR microbiologists and entomologists help identify hidden health threats at Camp Turtle, turning early disease and vector surveillance into practical steps that protect service members and sustain readiness during BALTOPS 2026.

09/03/2026

A key weapon against the New World screwworm is arriving early. USDA announced that its sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas will open in spring 2027, seven months ahead of schedule.

The New World screwworm, a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, was detected in Texas in June—the first U.S. infestation in three decades. The response relies on sterile insect technique: mass-producing and releasing sterile male flies that mate with wild females, producing no offspring and collapsing the population. It is the same strategy that eradicated screwworm from the United States decades ago.

Initial production: 100 million sterile flies per week
Full capacity: 300 million per week by the end of 2028
Built in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Source:

A sterile fly facility is set to open in Texas next spring amid a New World Screwworm (NWS) outbreak that has affected two states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Monday. The U…

09/02/2026

For more than 40 years, NAMRU EURAFCENT has helped keep the Multinational Force & Observers mission healthy in the Sinai. This summer, their team visited South Camp to reaffirm that partnership and welcome incoming MFO Force Surgeon Col. Matthew Westhoff.

The work: testing mosquitoes and sandflies for pathogens, tracking insecticide resistance, and building risk maps for leishmaniasis, West Nile virus and dengue — so threats are identified before they reach deployed forces.

"Protecting the health of personnel begins long before a service member becomes ill," said Cmdr. Micah Kinney, NAMRU EURAFCENT executive officer.

Read more: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/572398

SOUTH CAMP, Sinai, Egypt - Representatives from U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) EURAFCENT met with leaders of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) during a July visit to the Sinai Peninsula.

08/27/2026

Beekeepers in Europe have been fighting the invasive yellow-legged hornet since it reached France in 2004. A new study in the Journal of Economic Entomology is the first to formally test one of the tools they built themselves.

The trap is a mesh tube that sits about 8 cm in front of the hive entrance, with mesh chimneys at each end that funnel hornets up into collection chambers. Across 12 apiaries in Catalonia, roughly 91 percent of everything caught was the target hornet. About 5 percent of captures were founding queens, rising to 17 percent by November when new queens are produced. No pesticides involved.

The trap isn't perfectly selective. European hornets, a native species, made up close to half of the non-target catch, and the authors say funnel design and timing both need more work.

08/26/2026

Lyme disease is moving south. A new CDC MMWR report describes tick surveillance in Biltmore Forest, North Carolina, where approximately 40 percent of adult blacklegged ticks tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. That infection rate is on par with long-established endemic areas in the Northeast.

Researchers also detected Borrelia miyamotoi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, pathogens that cause hard tick relapsing fever and anaplasmosis, marking some of the southernmost findings of these agents in ticks.

If you spend time outdoors in the Southeast:

Use EPA-registered repellents such as DEET or picaridin
Treat clothing and gear with permethrin
Do a full tick check after time in grassy or wooded areas
See a healthcare provider promptly if you develop fever or rash after a tick bite

Source:

This report describes identification of blacklegged ticks during community-based tick surveillance at a residential property in North Carolina.

08/19/2026

CDC's ArboNET update (data as of August 18) reports 222 human West Nile virus cases across 32 states so far in 2026, including 156 neuroinvasive cases. Detections in mosquitoes and birds show the virus circulating well beyond counties with human cases.

Transmission typically peaks from late August through September, so the highest-risk weeks are still ahead.

-Eliminate standing water around homes, facilities, and work areas
-Use EPA-registered repellents such as DEET or picaridin
-Wear treated clothing and follow installation pest management guidance

Source:

West Nile virus case data for the U.S. are regularly updated in summer and fall.

08/10/2026

Virginia has reported its first locally acquired case of dengue fever, underscoring the evolving landscape of vector-borne diseases. This development highlights the critical need for robust public health surveillance and community engagement in mosquito control efforts.

Virginia health officials have confirmed the state’s first known case of locally acquired dengue, a viral disease usually associated with international travel.

07/27/2026

Philippines DVEP is here.

Our newest Disease Vector Ecology Profile is available for download. If you're deploying, planning, or supporting operations in the Philippines, this is your starting point for the arthropod-borne disease picture — epidemiology, vector bionomics and behavior, pesticide resistance, and a selected bibliography if you need to go deeper.

Like every DVEP, it's compiled entirely from open-source, unclassified scientific literature and is free to download.

📄https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/afpmb/docs/dveps/philippines.pdf

Browse the full DVEP collection: https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/afpmb/dveps.html

Found something that needs updating? DVEP revisions depend on field input — send corrections and suggestions our way.

07/16/2026

New World screwworm (C. hominivorax) has re-emerged in the US. The new ESA podcast covers interagency eradication, SIT tech, & fact vs fiction. Highly relevant for AFPMB and force health protection professionals.

Listen here:

An entomologist answers questions on the basics of the New World screwworm, efforts to re-eradicate it from the U.S., and what's fact versus fiction in the buzz around this re-emergent pest.

07/15/2026

Vector distribution is shifting. Lyme disease territory is expanding well beyond the Northeast, posing new challenges for force health protection and training readiness. Hear about the shifts driving this vector expansion in this NPR Short Wave episode.

In the grand scheme of things, Lyme disease is a fairly new scientific discovery. It was first traced back to ticks in the late 70s and early 80s. The tick-borne illness can cause a rash, fever, pain, neurological complications, and even facial paralysis. It’s spread by only two of the nearly 50 s...