Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996, USA.
Department of Clinical Investigation, Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, GA 30905, USA.
Mil Med. 2023 Aug 29;188(9-10):3205-3209. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usac255.
The Korean War (1950-1953) consisted of two phases. The first was a rapid mobile phase, and the second was a slow and stationary phase. During the stationary phase, approximately 3,000 UN troops became infected with a then unknown agent. The resulting illness began with flu-like symptoms and often progressed to a severe hemorrhagic fever leading to kidney failure and death. However, the cause was not to be identified until well over 20 years following the conclusion of the war when Dr. Ho Wang Lee succeeded in isolating Hantavirus from field rodents. The U.S. Military experience with Hantavirus during the Korean War is a case study of the potential impact of war-related environmental change on disease transmission. The lessons learned from this experience should inform future military medical planning and serve as a reminder of the impact that an unknown agent can have on military operations.
A literature review of all available records with respect to the U.S. Military experience with Hantavirus was conducted. PubMed was the primary search engine used for this review. However, primary literature and historical accounts were also evaluated. All records were examined for environmental, epidemiological, and public health data regarding hemorrhagic fever outbreaks among U.S. forces during the Korean War. The quantitative and qualitative data from these sources were analyzed and evaluated within the context of military medical planning and force health protection to derive lessons learned that should be applied to the management and mitigation of viral disease in future wars.
Widespread deforestation resulting from war-related efforts most likely played a significant role in the outbreaks of Hantavirus among UN forces during the war. A lack of cultural literacy and an overreliance on erroneous assumptions most likely delayed the identification of the true causative agent. It is conceivable that these delays led to an increased casualty rate and that they had a negative impact on military operations during the war.
A basic understanding of the ecological mechanisms that maintain species diversity in the local environment coupled with an appreciation for the impact of environmental change on this diversity is of paramount importance for the prevention and mitigation of viral disease outbreaks in the deployed setting. Military medical planners should become familiar with the medical literature of the region in which they will be operating as this literature often describes the agents that will most likely be encountered by U.S. forces.
朝鲜战争（1950-1953 年）分为两个阶段。第一阶段是快速机动阶段，第二阶段是缓慢而固定的阶段。在固定阶段，大约 3000 名联合国部队感染了一种当时未知的病原体。由此产生的疾病开始时出现流感样症状，通常会发展为严重的出血热，导致肾衰竭和死亡。然而，直到战争结束 20 多年后，当何旺李博士成功地从野外啮齿动物中分离出汉坦病毒时，这种病原体才被确定。美国军队在朝鲜战争期间对汉坦病毒的经验是一个关于战争相关环境变化对疾病传播潜在影响的案例研究。从这一经验中吸取的教训应该为未来的军事医疗规划提供信息，并提醒人们注意未知病原体对军事行动的影响。
对有关美国军队感染汉坦病毒的所有可用记录进行了文献回顾。PubMed 是进行此审查的主要搜索引擎。然而，也评估了主要文献和历史记载。所有记录都检查了朝鲜战争期间美国军队出血热爆发的环境、流行病学和公共卫生数据。从这些来源获得的定量和定性数据在军事医疗规划和部队健康保护的背景下进行了分析和评估，以得出应适用于未来战争中病毒性疾病管理和缓解的经验教训。
与战争相关的努力导致的广泛森林砍伐很可能在战争期间联合国部队汉坦病毒爆发中发挥了重要作用。缺乏文化素养和过度依赖错误假设很可能延迟了对真正致病因子的识别。可以想象，这些延迟导致了更高的伤亡率，并对战争期间的军事行动产生了负面影响。
对维持当地环境物种多样性的生态机制的基本理解，以及对环境变化对这种多样性的影响的认识，对于在部署环境中预防和缓解病毒性疾病爆发至关重要。军事医疗规划人员应该熟悉他们将要运作的地区的医学文献，因为这些文献通常描述了美国军队最有可能遇到的病原体。
