ABSTRACT
The requirement for rapid ground-truth verification is a major rate-limiting step in the early warning of global outbreaks of serious infectious disease. Until this problem is solved, the current and future systems for global disease surveillance will not be optimally functional. One solution is to create a well-funded team of military specialists capable of conducting a rapid on-site inspection and verification of any infectious disease outbreak posing a possible threat to international health security. There are multiple scenarios for the deployment of this team, including their entry into conflict areas to garner medical intelligence. This concept is not without precedent.
