LESSON 1
IMMUNIZATIONS/DISEASE REPORTING
Section I. PURPOSES OF IMMUNIZATION/PERSONNEL ELIGIBLE FOR THE
ARMY IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM
1-1.
INTRODUCTION
The immunization procedures for the United States armed forces are regularly
evaluated and updated. Requirements are precisely related to the geographic area of
military duty; therefore, the world is divided into four areas.
a. Area I. United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Kwajalein Atoll, Guam,
Pacific Islands east of the 180th meridian, North and South Polar regions including the
Antarctic continent, Bermuda, Bahama Islands, Baja California, and the area in Mexico
north of a line 50 miles south of the United States-Mexico border.
b. Area II. All areas outside Area I, including Areas IIP and IIY.
c. Area IIP (Plague). Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
d. Area IIY (Yellow Fever). Central America southeast of the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec, Panama, South America, and Africa south of the Sahara.
1-2.
PURPOSES OF IMMUNIZATION
a. A person can become immune to some diseases naturally by having the
disease. However, if a person wants to acquire a certain kind of immunity at a particular
time, it is difficult to predict whether the natural process will occur, when it will occur, or
whether the infection will cause a severe or fatal disease. It is often desirable to
develop immunity safely, with certainty, at certain times, and in certain people.
b. It is desirable for members of the armed forces to have immunizations to
conserve their fighting strength by preventing personnel from having diseases which
might interfere with the accomplishment of the military mission. Historically, more
soldiers have died from diseases which today can be prevented than have died from
enemy weapons. Immunizations assure that military units can perform their mission
anywhere in the world without delay or detention in travel and without the danger of
disease.
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