An Outbreak of Malaria in a Forward Battalion on Active Service in East Timor

Kitchener, Scott; Nasveld, Peter; Russell, Bruce; Elmes, Nathan J.

doi:10.1093/milmed/168.6.457

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Malaria rates coincided with increased hostilities during operations, which further compromised antimalaria precautions. Similarly Kitchener et al [4], reported an outbreak of malaria in an Australian military battalion deployed in East Timor. They used similar diagnostic strategy as the present study i.e., rapid screening with ICT testing and confirmation with thick and thin blood smear examination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Malaria on the Move : Ecological Considerations for the Armed Forces

Jaiswal¹,

Srinivasan²,

Mehta³

et al. 2007

Medical Journal Armed Forces India

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Background: Armed forces personnel deployed in the North Eastern states of India are vulnerable to falciparum malaria. This vulnerability increases during mobilization of troops. Methods: Epidemiological case sheet was used for recording individual movement, clinical features and laboratory investigations of each case of malaria. Immunochromotography test (ICT) or Paracheck Pf was used as a rapid test for falciparum malaria at the regimental aid post (RAP). Subsequently, a case control approach was used to ascertain whether the cases of malaria differed significantly from healthy controls in observing antimalaria measures such as the use of mosquito nets, repellants and chemoprophylaxis. Result: Nineteen out of 623 soldiers suffered from falciparum malaria during a short period of ten days during operational mobilization. Use of mosquito nets and repellants was significantly less among the cases as compared to healthy controls. There was no significant difference among the two groups regarding compliance with chemoprophylaxis. Conclusion: A paradigm of "malaria on the move" or "operational malaria" has been proposed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Malaria on the Move : Ecological Considerations for the Armed Forces

Jaiswal¹,

Srinivasan²,

Mehta³

et al. 2007

Medical Journal Armed Forces India

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“…Malaria is known to be a significant problem for military personnel due to the high exposure risk of their activities (Porter 2006, Elmes 2010. Factors associated with malaria risk in military personnel include compliance to chemoprophylaxis and other preventive measures, side effects from medications, perception of susceptibility to mosquito bites and malaria risk, lack of preventative medicine support, involvement in night operations, location of platoon positions, and general compliance within the group (Anonymous 2001, Peragallo et al 2002, Kitchener et al 2003, Resseguier et al 2010.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Surveillance for Informing Pretravel Medical Advice: Imported Malaria in New Zealand 1997–2009

Lau

Weinstein

Slaney

2014

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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Malaria has never been endemic in New Zealand, and all cases have been diagnosed in international travelers. In this paper, we describe malaria cases reported from 1997 to 2009 and discuss epidemiological changes compared to a previous report from 1980 to 1992. From 1997 to 2009, 666 malaria infections were reported, with 410 cases (61.6%) in travelers aged 20-39 and 133 (20%) in military personnel. Infections were caused by Plasmodium vivax in 436 cases (72.7%) and Plasmodium falciparum in 163 (27.2%). In the 533 civilians, common countries of infection were Papua New Guinea (24.4%), India (18.6%), the Solomon Islands (8.8%), and Indonesia (6.1%). Most common regions of malaria acquisition for civilians were Papua New Guinea and Western Pacific (39.8%), Africa (24.7%), Indian subcontinent (19.5%), and Southeast Asia (13.6%). Compared to a previous report of malaria in New Zealand from 1980 to 1992, regions of malaria acquisition have changed significantly, with a lower percentage of cases acquired from Papua New Guinea and Western Pacific (from 59.2% to 39.3%), and a higher percentage from Africa (from 8.6% to 21.3%). The ethnic groups affected also differ significantly between the two surveillance periods, with a reduction in the percentage of cases reported in Caucasians (from 80.8 to 45.9%) and an increase in cases in Indians (from 7.0 to 15.7%), Papua New Guineans and Pacific Islanders (from 5.2 to 16.9%), other Asians (from 2.3 to 5.6%), and Africans (from 0 to 8.5%). Common locations of malaria infection have evolved over time and probably reflect changing travel patterns of New Zealanders and the origins of visitors and immigrants. Therefore, local surveillance is important for informing pretravel advice by identifying vulnerable groups and common destinations for malaria infection, so that special attention on malaria prevention can be focused on travelers who are at highest risk. Ongoing surveillance is also essential for monitoring the evolving epidemiology of imported malaria over time.

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“…chemoprophylaxis, repellent use, and proper use of impregnated uniforms) and the impossibility of performing environmental control (e.g. sanitation of potential mosquito breeding places and habitats in combat areas, including the use of impregnated bed-nets) resulted in malaria outbreaks in the US, French, Italian, Australian, British and Dutch Forces [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. During this period, resistance to most of the drugs used in treatment of or chemoprophylaxis for both P. falciparum and P. vivax increased or emerged [33].…”

Section: Mosquito-borne Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The past and present threat of vector-borne diseases in deployed troops

Pagès

Faulde²,

Orlandi-Pradines

et al. 2010

Clinical Microbiology and Infection

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From time immemorial, vector-borne diseases have severely reduced the fighting capacity of armies and caused suspension or cancellation of military operations. Since World War I, infectious diseases have no longer been the main causes of morbidity and mortality among soldiers. However, most recent conflicts involving Western armies have occurred overseas, increasing the risk of vector-borne disease for the soldiers and for the displaced populations. The threat of vector-borne disease has changed with the progress in hygiene and disease control within the military: some diseases have lost their military significance (e.g. plague, yellow fever, and epidemic typhus); others remain of concern (e.g. malaria and dengue fever); and new potential threats have appeared (e.g. West Nile encephalitis and chikungunya fever). For this reason, vector control and personal protection strategies are always major requirements in ensuring the operational readiness of armed forces. Scientific progress has allowed a reduction in the impact of arthropod-borne diseases on military forces, but the threat is always present, and a failure in the context of vector control or in the application of personal protection measures could allow these diseases to have the same devastating impact on human health and military readiness as they did in the past.

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An Outbreak of Malaria in a Forward Battalion on Active Service in East Timor

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Malaria on the Move : Ecological Considerations for the Armed Forces

Malaria on the Move : Ecological Considerations for the Armed Forces

The Importance of Surveillance for Informing Pretravel Medical Advice: Imported Malaria in New Zealand 1997–2009

The past and present threat of vector-borne diseases in deployed troops

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