Malaria in the Australian Defence Force during and after participation in the International Force in East Timer (INTERFET)

Malaria in Australian Defence Force members has been far more common in East Timer than in other recent overseas deployments. By six months after all 5500 members of the international Force in East Timer had returned to Australia, 267 malaria infections had been reported to the Army Malaria institute. Only 64 of those affected had their first clinical episode during their 4-5 months in East Timer, and about two-thirds of these infections were caused by Plasmodium falciparum. The remaining 212 soldiers developed their first symptoms after returning to Australia, and all but two infections were caused by P. vivax. After treatment, 44 soldiers had relapses of their vivax infections; II had a second relapse and two had a third relapse. These findings raise several issues about prevention and management of malaria in the ADF.