THE THREAT OF INFECTIOUS-DISEASES IN SOMALIA

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death – ride the arid plains of Somalia. Despite the protection offered by modern chemoprophylaxis, immunization, and preventive medicine, military personnel safeguarding food delivery in Operation Restore Hope are threatened by exotic infectious diseases rarely seen by U.S. physicians. Some require prompt treatment to prevent death (Table 1). Many other infections acquired in Somalia will appear soon after exposure, some will become evident after the troops return home, and others will remain latent unless host immunity is compromised. Physicians caring for Somalis, particularly displaced persons in refugee camps, are… © 1993, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.