Counterinsurgency operations over a century ago were marked by casualty lists dominated by infectious diseases, not combat injuries. For decades, Dutch soldiers fought in Aceh Province of the then Netherlands…
Note: Content within this review and book regarding mental health challenges may be distressing for some people. Support is available through your Chain of Command, Chaplaincy, Health Centre, Lifeline 13…
Medical corps officers were often the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for infectious disease mortality in armies during the pre-antibiotic era. This means that medical officers could be among the…
Soil-transmitted helminths such as hookworm are rarely a problem for military units unless they directly contact faecally contaminated soil during tropical operations. Localised epidemics incapacitating small infantry units have been…
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a flavivirus infection transmitted by Ixodes ticks across Eurasia. Recently, rare indigenous cases of TBE have been reported in the United Kingdom, although most documented traveller…
Alcohol was widely believed to induce malaria recurrence in the early 20th century, but no physiological mechanism was recognised. Allied military units during World War II experienced vast numbers of…
Pertussis (whooping cough) is not typically considered an infectious disease of military significance, as its most severe manifestations are primarily restricted to unimmunised children. Pertussis is increasing, particularly in Australia…
Black measles (Rubeola nigra) was understood to be an infrequent, severe subtype of measles defined by a very dark, nearly confluent rash in the 19th century. During the US Civil…
P falciparum infections carry a considerable mortality risk, but the nature of the ‘immunity’ gained from infection experience is uncertain. Although anaemia may contribute some protection against mortality, the function…
The conclusion is therefore justified that the cases of ‘mysterious disease’ occurring in Queensland and New South Wales are caused by the same virus as acute poliomyelitis. Anton Breinl, 19181…
Acute schistosomiasis is rarely of military concern, but epidemics have disrupted tropical operations. Acute schistosomiasis is particularly challenging to diagnose because it presents as a non-specific febrile disease, often with…
Malaria was a major cause of casualties during World War II in the Southwest Pacific, and drug supply issues were acute strategic concerns. The capture of the cinchona plantations of…
The Spanish–American War In 2014, the US Army deployed 2500 soldiers into Liberia, West Africa, as part of a global response to an Ebola outbreak. Despite the fear of viral…
Although dengue became endemic in northern Australia in the 19th century, the enormous movement of people and material during World War II resulted in localised dengue epidemics in Queensland. Factors…
Military prison camps have historically been terrible places with excessive mortality. A review of extant records from the 19th to the 20th century indicates that gastrointestinal mortality dominated in both…
Refugees displaced from their usual residence by military conflict may generate malaria epidemics when moving into endemic areas. Examples from the 1980s include Khmer refugees from Cambodia into Thailand and…
Although historically greatly feared due to its ability to kill quickly from dehydration, cholera has not featured in recent ADF military operations except in 2010 when United Nations Peacekeepers from…
G. D Shanks Abstract Measles remained a lethal infection during the early 20th century within the military but mortality disappeared prior to immunisation 50 years later. Historical records were reviewed…
As the Army Malaria Institute entered its fifth decade, its research mission expanded and matured. Five research departments were engaged in assessing a variety of malaria drugs, molecular biology, field,…
The second half of the third decade (1990-1995) after the establishment of the Army Malaria Research Unit was characterised by substantial progress in meeting the challenges posed by drug-resistant malaria.…
