Naval Medical Research Unit Four (NAMRU-4) was a research laboratory of the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
which was commissioned 31 May 1946 at the Naval Hospital in
Dublin, Georgia
Dublin is a city in Laurens County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,074. It is the county seat of Laurens County.
History
The original settlement was named after Dublin, Ireland.
Dublin, accordi ...
as the Mcintire
Research Unit for Rheumatic Fever, which was named for the
Surgeon General of the United States Navy Ross T. Mcintire
Ross T. McIntire (August 11, 1889 – December 8, 1959) was an American physician and United States Navy officer. An otolaryngologist, he was appointed physician to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, becoming the first Physician to the Presi ...
. Initial staffing was 4 physicians, 4 laboratory technicians and 4 laboratory helpers under the command of LCDR John R. Seal. Eighteen months after commissioning the Navy transferred Dublin Naval Hospital to the Veterans Affairs system and the Secretary of the Navy re-established NAMRU-4 at
Great Lakes Naval Base
Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...
on the grounds of the Naval Hospital to study acute respiratory diseases in military personnel with a focus on their prevention. Lieutenant Commander Seal remained the Officer in Charge. The location at Great Lakes made it ideal as this was a large recruit training command with members arriving from all over the United States and being housed in military barracks and therefore would be expected to experience outbreaks of respiratory illness periodically. Diseases studied included:
*Neisseria meningitidis
*Adenoviruses
*Influenza
*Mycoplasma
*Streptococcus and rheumatic fever
In 1954 NAMRU-4 would be the first microbiology lab to ever isolate influenza virus in tissue culture. In the same year they would be the first lab to ever identify influenza B virus.
NAMRU-4 was disestablished in 1974.
Officers in Charge
*Lieutenant Commander J.R. Seal MC, USN 1946-48 (McIntire Research Unit)
*Commander J.R. Seal MC, USN 1948-54 (NAMRU-4)
*Captain K.H. Sessions MC, USN 1954-5
*Captain M.J. Hantover MC, USN 1955-7
*Commander B.F. Gundlefinger MC, USN 1957-8
*Captain L.F. Miller MC, USN 1958-1964
*Commander C.H. Miller MC, USN 1964-1964
*Captain R O Peckinpaugh MC, USN 1964-1968
Commanding officers
*Captain R O Peckinpaugh MC, USN 1968-1972
*Captain C.H. Miller MC, USN 1972-1974
References Navy Research timelineNaval Medical Research Unit No 4. History and accomplishments: an introduction to NAMRU-4. Great Lakes, IL: Naval Medical Research Unit No. 4; 1972.Epidemiology and Prevention of Acute Respiratory Disease in Naval Recruits
jph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/55/1/67.pdf AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY OF RESPIRATORY ILLNESS PATTERNS
IN NAVY AND MARINE CORPS RECRUITSbr>FIELD TRIAL OF THE EFFICACY OF A PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED REGIMEN USING MINOCYCLINE AND RIFAMPIN SEQUENTIALLY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF MENINGOCOCCI FROM HEALTHY CARRIERSProtection of a Military Population From Rheumatic Fever
External links
Navy Medical Research timeline
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2017
Military medical research of the United States Navy
Medical and health organizations based in Georgia (U.S. state)