Chellaraj Alyssa H, Nun Dylan J, Johnson Jason Y, Sweet Kiley A, Burgess Alex M, Gordon Galina M, Chauff Skyler A, Millican Benjamin M, Wilkinson Canden J, Davidson Silas A
Department of Chemistry and Life Sciences, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996, USA.
Mil Med. 2023 Jul 22(7-8). doi: 10.1093/milmed/usac131. Epub 2022 May 19.
The Army uses permethrin-treated uniforms as the primary method to protect soldiers from tick-borne diseases. Permethrin binds strongly to fabric and provides long-term protection against many blood-feeding arthropods. However, protection decreases if the uniforms are not washed and cared for according to label instructions. This study was conducted among cadets at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, NY, to determine what the cadets know about permethrin and how they care for and wear their uniforms. West Point is in an area with high rates of tick-borne disease transmission. A survey was developed to determine what cadets know about the threat of tick-borne diseases and if they wear and maintain their uniforms in a manner that effectively maintains permethrin levels.
A 16-question survey was developed and submitted to the local review board for approval. The study was classified as human subjects research according to 32CFR219 and met the requirements for exempt status under 32CFR219.104(d)(2)(i). After receiving approval, a hard copy survey was distributed among cadets with efforts to sample at least 50 members from each cadet class.
A total of 319 cadets provided responses to the survey questions, representing more than 7% of the cadet population at the USMA. The results showed most cadets knew their uniforms were treated with permethrin, but less than half knew there are specific instructions attached to their uniforms describing how the uniforms should be laundered. From the cadets who knew there were instructions, most admittedly did not follow the instructions. Sixteen percent of cadets said they had dry-cleaned their uniforms. This is a process known to remove most of the permethrin. The majority of cadets viewed the risk of tick-borne disease at West Point to be moderate or lower.
This study provides a basic understanding of the wear patterns of permethrin-treated uniforms among cadets at the USMA. It is also one of the few studies to measure knowledge and uniform-wearing behavior among service members since the Army switched to factory-treated uniforms in 2013. The results indicate that compliance with uniform laundry and care instructions is low. This information is useful to develop training plans and educate cadets how they can wear and take care of their permethrin-treated uniforms to better protect themselves from tick-borne diseases.
陆军使用经氯菊酯处理的制服作为保护士兵免受蜱传疾病侵害的主要方法。氯菊酯与织物紧密结合，可长期抵御许多吸血节肢动物。然而，如果不按照标签说明清洗和保养制服，防护效果会降低。本研究在美国纽约州西点军校的学员中开展，以确定学员对氯菊酯的了解程度以及他们如何保养和穿着制服。西点军校所在地区蜱传疾病传播率很高。开展了一项调查，以确定学员对蜱传疾病威胁的了解情况，以及他们是否以有效维持氯菊酯含量的方式穿着和保养制服。
设计了一份包含16个问题的调查问卷，并提交给当地审查委员会批准。根据32 CFR 219，该研究被归类为人体受试者研究，并符合32 CFR 219.104(d)(2)(i)规定的豁免状态要求。获得批准后，向学员发放了纸质调查问卷，努力从每个学员班级中抽取至少50名成员作为样本。
共有319名学员回答了调查问卷中的问题，占西点军校学员总数的7%以上。结果显示，大多数学员知道他们的制服经过氯菊酯处理，但不到一半的学员知道制服附有关于如何洗涤的具体说明。在知道有说明的学员中，大多数承认没有遵循这些说明。16%的学员表示他们对制服进行了干洗。这是一个已知会去除大部分氯菊酯的过程。大多数学员认为西点军校蜱传疾病的风险为中等或更低。
本研究提供了对西点军校学员中经氯菊酯处理的制服穿着模式的基本了解。这也是自2013年陆军改用工厂处理的制服以来，为数不多的测量军人知识和制服穿着行为的研究之一。结果表明，遵守制服洗涤和保养说明的情况很低。这些信息有助于制定培训计划，并教育学员如何穿着和保养经氯菊酯处理的制服，以更好地保护自己免受蜱传疾病侵害。
