Federal Ministry of Defence

West Nile virus (WNV, family Flaviviridae) is the most geographically widespread arbovirus affecting humans. It circulates between wild birds and mosquitoes, while humans and horses are dead-end hosts. In recent years, several outbreaks have been reported from European countries, including the Balkan Peninsula. In the Republic of Kosovo, a southern Balkan country, data on WNV are scarce, and neither mosquito monitoring nor WNV surveillance is established. To address this gap, we aimed to assess a first monitoring approach that should set the basis and support future large-scale activities in the country. Mosquito sampling was performed from May to September 2022 in a peri-urban area in the western part of the capital city Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo. Collected mosquitoes were pooled, homogenized, and total nucleic acid was extracted. A WNV-DENV-ZIKV-specific multiplex RT-qPCR was applied, and WNV-positive samples were confirmed by RT-PCR and whole-genome sequencing. Of 44 screened pools, one pool molecularly identified as Culex pipiens f. pipiens was positive for WNV RNA. Subsequent sequencing revealed WNV lineage 2, and phylogenetic analysis included our sample in a monophyletic clade consisting mostly of sequences from southeastern Europe. This finding represents the first detection of WNV in mosquitoes in Kosovo, and provides crucial baseline data for future vector-borne disease monitoring, and control efforts in Kosovo.

Journal Article A Farewell to Wars: The Growing Restraints on the Interstate Use of Force by Hans Blix Get access A Farewell to Wars: The Growing Restraints on the Interstate Use of Force by Hans Blix ( CUP, 2023), xiv, 313 pp. £22.99 Dieter Fleck Dieter Fleck International Society for Military Law and the Law of War, Brussels, BelgiumFormerly International Agreements & Policy, German Ministry of Defence, Germany E-mail: DieterFleck@t-online.de Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 29, Issue 1, Spring 2024, Pages 185–188, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krae003 Published: 10 March 2024

Abstract Any national defense is dependent on the efficacy of the available physical infrastructure. Whatever degrades infrastructure, structurally, physically, architecturally, or aesthetically, is of interest to the nation. Climate change is now a major significant factor of interest impinging on national critical infrastructure. The devastating effects of climate change have increasing pervasiveness throughout the world. The impact on critical infrastructure is of particular interest to researchers. In consonance with ASCE-ASME's special issue on critical infrastructure protection and resilience, this paper presents a systems-modeling approach for critical infrastructure and predictions in relation to climate change agreements in COP26. The paper addresses high-level critical systems-based assessment of the social, legal, economic, and technical nuances impinging on the viability of COP26 agreements. The paper was written using a multi-national collaboration approach. The specific focus of national defense is used as the backdrop for the methodology of the paper.

On 17 April 2019, a coach with tourists from Germany crashed in Madeira, requiring repatriation by the German Air Force. The Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) concept was the central component of patient care. Data in Madeira were collected through a structured interview. The analysis of the Aeromedical Evacuation was based on intensive care transport records. In Germany, all available medical data sheets were reviewed for data collection. Quality of life (HRQoL) was evaluated by the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). Twenty-eight prehospital patients were transported to the Level III Trauma Center in Funchal (Madeira). Five operative procedures were performed. Fifteen patients were eligible for Aeromedical Evacuation (AE). In the second hospital phase in Germany, in total 82 radiological images and 9 operations were performed. Hospital stay lasted 11 days (median, IQR 10-18). Median follow-up (14 of 15 patients) was 16 months (IQR 16-21). Eighty percent (8 out of 10) showed an increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Six key findings were identified in this study: divergent injury classification, impact of AE mission on health status, lack of communication, need of PTSD prophylaxis, patient identification, and media coverage. Those findings may improve AE missions in the future, e.g., when required after armed conflicts.

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