The United States Army Medical Unit (1956–1969) – a now defunct medical research unit for

biodefense Biodefense refers to measures to restore biosecurity to a group of organisms who are, or may be, subject to biological threats or infectious diseases. Biodefense is frequently discussed in the context of biowar or bioterrorism, and is generall ...

– was at

Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, it ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, US. In contrast to the

U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories The U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) were a suite of research laboratories and pilot plant centers operating at Camp (later Fort) Detrick, Maryland, United States beginning in 1943 under the control of the U.S. Army Chemical Co ...

(1943–1969), also at Fort Detrick, the USAMU's mission was purely to develop defensive measures against bio-agents, as opposed to weapons development. The USAMU was the predecessor to today's USAMRIID.

History

The U.S. Army Medical Unit (USAMU or AMU) was originally established on 20 June 1956 as a separate Class II activity under the jurisdiction of

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, it se ...

(WRAMC). The first USAMU commander was Col. William D. Tigertt. One of the USAMU's first responsibilities was to oversee all aspects of Project CD-22, the exposure of volunteers to aerosols containing a highly pathogenic strain of ''

Coxiella burnetii ''Coxiella burnetii'' is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen, and is the causative agent of Q fever. The genus ''Coxiella'' is morphologically similar to ''Rickettsia'', but with a variety of genetic and physiological differences. ''C. ...

'', the causal agent of

Q fever Q fever or query fever is a disease caused by infection with ''Coxiella burnetii'', a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic mammals, including ...

. One pre-existing research project, Operation Whitecoat (1954–1973), outlasted the USAMU. (It was a medical research program using volunteer enlisted personnel – all conscientious objectors.) General Order 9, dated 29 September 1958,

Office of The Surgeon General The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...

, assigned the USAMU to Headquarters, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). In 1961, Col. Dan Crozier assumed command of the USAMU. Modern principles of

biosafety Biosafety is the prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on ecology and human health. These prevention mechanisms include conduction of regular reviews of the biosafety in laboratory settings, as well as strict guide ...

and

biocontainment One use of the concept of biocontainment is related to laboratory biosafety and pertains to microbiology laboratories in which the physical containment of pathogenic organisms or agents (bacteria, viruses, and toxins) is required, usually by ...

were pioneered at Fort Detrick throughout the 1960s by a number of scientists led by Arnold G. Wedum. General Order No. 6, dated 27 January 1969, Office of The Surgeon General, redesignated the USAMU as the

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID; pronounced: you-SAM-rid) is the U.S Army's main institution and facility for defensive research into countermeasures against biological warfare. It is located ...

(USAMRIID) still assigned to USAMRDC.

History

See also