TAB A – Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Glossary

ACIP	Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
AFEB	Armed Forces Epidemiological Board
AFMIC	Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center
AOR	area of responsibility
ARCENT	Army Central Command
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ASD(HA)	Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
AVIP	Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program
BW	biological warfare
CDC	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDRFORSCOM	Commander, Forces Command
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CENTCOM	Central Command
CINC	Commander in Chief
CINCCENT	Commander in Chief, Central Command
CINCFOR	Commander in Chief, Forces Command
CW	chemical warfare
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DD	Department of Defense (form)
DEERS	Defense Eligibility and Enrollment Reporting System
DNBI	disease and non-battle injury
DoD	Department of Defense
FDA	Food and Drug Administration
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FORSCOM	Forces Command (Army)
GAO	General Accounting Office
HHS	Department of Health and Human Services
HSC	Health Services Command (Army)
ICD	International Classification of Diseases
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IND	investigational new drug
IOM	Institute of Medicine
J4	Joint Staff, Logistics Directorate
MARDIV	Marine division
MEDCOM	Medical Command (Army)
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MEDPROS	Medical Protection System (Army)
MEDSOM	Medical Supply, Optical, and Maintenance
MDPH	Michigan Department of Public Health
MITS	Military Immunization Tracking System (Air Force)
MMWR	Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
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MOD	Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
MPOD	Medical Plans and Operations Division (J4)
NBC	nuclear, biological, and chemical
NCID	National Center for Infectious Diseases
NGB	National Guard Bureau
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PAC	Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
PHS	Public Health Service
PIC	personal information carrier
SAMS	Shipboard Automated Medical System (Navy)
SF	standard form
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UK	United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
USACHPPM	US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine
USAMRIID	US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
USAMRMC	US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
VA	Department of Veterans Affairs
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VAERS	Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System
WHO	World Health Organization

Active immunity	Immunity produced by the person’s own immune system. This type of immunity can be brought about by a natural infection or by a vaccine. It is usually long lasting. (Compare with passive immunity.)
Adjuvant	A substance added to a vaccine preparation to increase the body’s immune response to the vaccine.
Adverse event	Any undesirable event that occurs following vaccination. An adverse event could be a true vaccine reaction, or just a coincidental event, with further research needed to distinguish between them.
Adverse reaction	An unintended side effect of a vaccine. (The intended effect of a vaccine is to produce immunity.) Adverse reactions may be local, systemic, or allergic.
Allergy	A condition in which the body has an exaggerated (immune) response to a substance, like a vaccine. Also known as hypersensitivity.
Antibiotics	Drugs (medicines) used to treat or prevent infectious diseases.
Antigen	A foreign substance (like a bacterium or virus, or parts of them) which triggers an immune response. Vaccines also contain antigens in order to trigger an immune response that is protective against subsequent disease.
Attenuated vaccine	A vaccine prepared from live bacteria or viruses, which have been weakened so they produce immunity but do not cause disease. Also called live attenuated vaccines. (Compare with inactivated vaccine.)
Bacteria	Tiny one-celled organisms present throughout the environment. Some bacteria cause disease (like diphtheria, tetanus, and typhoid fever).
Biological warfare agent	A tiny organism (or toxin produced by it) used as a weapon to cause disease.
Biologics	A classification of products derived from living sources, such as humans, animals, bacteria and viruses. Vaccines, immune globulin, and anti-toxins are biologics.
Booster	An additional dose of a vaccine needed periodically to "boost" the immune system (e.g. tetanus-diphtheria vaccine every 10 years).
Chemoprophylaxis	The use of a drugs to prevent infectious diseases (e.g., the use of anti-malarial pills).
Effectiveness (or Efficacy)	The ability of a vaccine to produce the desired beneficial effect, i.e., to protect against a disease.
Endemic (disease)	(A disease) occurring continually in a population or geographic area.
Epidemic (disease)	(A disease) occurring in a population or geographic area in excess of what would be normally be expected.
Epidemiology	The study of the frequency and distribution of disease in human populations.
Exposure	Contact with infectious agents (bacteria or viruses) in a manner that promotes transmission and increases the likelihood of disease.
Immune system	A complex system in the body which fights disease by recognizing bacteria and viruses as foreign and developing a defense against them (the immune response). Vaccines protect against disease by stimulating the immune system to produce this immune response.
Immunity	Protection against or resistance to disease. Immunity may be long lasting or temporary. It generally follows natural infections and is the goal of vaccinations. (See also active and passive immunity.)
Immunization	The process of inducing protection against a disease, usually by administering an antigen (as in a vaccine) or antibodies (as in immune globulin). (See also vaccination, but these terms are often used interchangeably.)
Inactivated vaccine	A vaccine prepared from killed whole bacteria or viruses, from parts of them, or from products (like toxins) produced by them.
Investigational vaccine	A vaccine that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in clinical trials on humans. However, investigational vaccines are still in the testing and evaluation phase and are not licensed for use in the general public. For more detailed information, see the FDA web site at www.fda.gov/cder.
Natural infection (or disease)	An infection (or disease) from bacteria or viruses found in the environment, such as measles, chicken pox, etc.
Passive immunity	Immunity produced in an animal or person and transferred to another person, usually by injection. It is effective but usually disappears in a few weeks to months. (Immune globulin and botulinum antitoxin provide passive immunity.)
Side effect	An undesirable effect of a vaccine. (See also adverse reaction.)
Systemic	Affecting the whole body.
Toxin	A poisonous substance produced by a living organism (e.g., a bacterium, a plant, or an animal). Some toxins can cause diseases, such as botulism and tetanus.
Toxoid	A vaccine prepared from an inactivated bacterial toxin. (Botulinum toxoid vaccine and tetanus-diphtheria toxoid vaccines are examples.)
Vaccination	The introduction into the body of bacteria or viruses (or parts or products of them) that have previously been treated to make them harmless for the purposes of inducing the development of immunity. (See also immunization.)
Vaccine	A preparation of weakened or killed microorganisms (or parts or products of them) used to produce immunity to a particular disease.
Virus	A tiny organism that multiplies within cells and can cause disease. Measles, mumps, chickenpox, and hepatitis are diseases caused by viruses.