This public-domain Department of Defense field manual, used by the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, serves as a guide and a reference for trained members of the Armed Forces Medical Services and other medically qualified personnel on the recognition and treatment of biological warfare (BW) agent casualties. Information contained in this publication may also be relevant for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with naturally acquired diseases or illnesses due to pathogens with BW potential. It classifies and describes potential BW agents, provides procedures for collecting, handling and labeling, shipping, and identifying potential BW agents, describes procedures for medical diagnosing, treating, and management of BW casualties, and describes medical management and treatment in BW operations. The treatment modalities contained in this manual differ from standard textbooks in that they apply to BW agent exposures. The method of exposure for most BW agents is by inhalation; whereas, the endemic disease exposure (if applicable) is by other means.
Some of the diseases covered include: anthrax, brucellosis, melioidosis, glanders, plague, Q fever, tularemia, smallpox, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, viral hemorrhagic fevers, toxins, clostridium botulinum toxin, clostridium perfringen toxins, ricin, saxitoxin, staphylococcal enterotoxin B, and trichothecene mycotoxins. For each disease, it provides general information, agent delivery method, environmental detection, prevention, clinical presentation and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, control of patients, contacts, and treatment areas, and medical evacuation.
It also includes medical management data, military facilities, definitions, abbreviations and acronyms. This up-to-date manual was prepared July 2000. It is a superb source of current information on the diagnosis and treatment of potential biological weapon casualties.
