Surveillance for vector-borne diseases among active and reserve component service members, u.S. armed forces, 2016–2020

This report summarizes data from electronic reports of reportable medical events (RMEs) to examine the incidence of vector-borne infectious diseases among members of the U.S. Armed Forces during a recent 5-year period. Case reports of such diseases were characterized as confirmed, probable, or suspected by the senders of the RME reports. Records of inpatient and outpatient care were not searched to find additional cases. Lyme disease and malaria were the most common diagnoses among confirmed cases. The next most common diagnoses were Zika virus infection, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and dengue. Those 5 diseases were responsible for 94% of all confirmed vector-borne diseases reported as RMEs. Among the 1,068 RMEs for vector-borne diseases (confirmed, probable, and suspected), there were only 105 such cases that could be linked to a record of hospitalization for the same diagnosis.