The need for preventive and curative services for malaria when the military is deployed in endemic overseas territories: a case study and lessons learned

Sumadhya Deepika Fernando; Rahuman Booso; Priyani Dharmawardena; Arunagirinathan Harintheran; Kugapiriyan Raviraj; Chaturaka Rodrigo; Manjula Danansuriya; Rajitha Wickremasinghe

doi:10.1186/s40779-017-0128-3

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The need for preventive and curative services for malaria when the military is deployed in endemic overseas territories: a case study and lessons learned

RESEARCH | Updated：2026-03-12

- The need for preventive and curative services for malaria when the military is deployed in endemic overseas territories: a case study and lessons learned
- Military Medical Research Vol. 5, Issue 1, Pages: 13-18(2018)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  2.Directorate of Health Services, Sri Lanka Air Force, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  3.Anti-Malaria Campaign, Ministry of Health, 555/5 Public Health Complex, Narahenpita, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka
  4.Department of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
  5.Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
- Author bio：
  
  *: chaturaka.rodrigo@gmail.com
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1186/s40779-017-0128-3
  CLC：
- Published：2018-03
- Accepted：
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Fernando et al.: The need for preventive and curative services for malaria when the military is deployed in endemic overseas territories: a case study and lessons learned. Mil Med Res, 2017, 4: 19
DOI：

Fernando et al.: The need for preventive and curative services for malaria when the military is deployed in endemic overseas territories: a case study and lessons learned. Mil Med Res, 2017, 4: 19 DOI： 10.1186/s40779-017-0128-3.

摘要

Abstract

Background:

Sri Lanka has been free from indigenous malaria since November 2012 and received the WHO certificate for malaria-free status in September 2016. Due to increased global travel

imported malaria cases continue to be reported in the country. Military personnel returning home from international peace-keeping missions in malaria endemic countries represent a key risk group in terms of imported malaria. The present study intended to characterize the potential causes of a malaria outbreak among the Sri Lankan security forces personnel deployed in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Methods:

Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey distributed among Sri Lankan Air Force personnel who had returned from United Nations peace-keeping missions in the CAR region. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for the data collection

and focus group discussions were also conducted.

Results:

One hundred twenty male Air Force personnel were interviewed (out of a group of 122 officers and airmen). All participants were deployed in the CAR for 14 months and were aware of the existence of chemoprophylaxis against malaria. The majority of the subjects (92.5%

111/120) also knew that prophylaxis should be started prior to departure. However

the regular use of chemoprophylaxis was reported by only 61.7% (74/120) of the sample. Overall

30.8% of the participants (37/120) had 44 symptomatic episodes of malaria during deployment

and one person succumbed to severe malaria. All cases were associated with noncompliance with chemoprophylaxis.

Conclusion:

Better coordination with overseas healthcare services and the establishment of directly observed chemoprophylaxis may help to avoid similar outbreaks in the future.

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Keywords

references

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Fernando SD , Rodrigo C , de Silva N , Semege S , Rajapakse S , Samaranayake N , et al . Educating the security forces, a high risk group in malaria elimination efforts: an example from Sri Lanka . Int Health . 2014 ; 6 ( 3 ): 196 - 202 .

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Madamet M , Gaillard T , Velut G , Ficko C , Houze P , Bylicki C , et al . Malaria prophylaxis failure with doxycycline, Central African Republic, 2014 . Emerg Infect Dis . 2015 ; 21 ( 8 ): 1485 - 6 .

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Gill CA . Some points in the epidemiology of malaria arising out of the study of the malaria epidemic in Ceylon in 1945-1935 . Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg . 1936 ; XXIX : 428 - 80 .

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