From Cpl Sean Burton in East Timor
AIRBORNE enemies have met for a second time but it looks like the AUSBATT Preventative Medicine Section is winning the war against their long-time enemy, the disease-carrying mosquito.

When 3RAR returned from INTERFET the airborne unit had about 160 cases of malaria. Today, thanks to eduction and effective preventative medicine, the unit has recorded only one case of the tropical disease during its tour so far.

Environmental health officer Capt Fabian Campagnolo commands the Preventative Medical Section, based at AUSBATT RAP in Moleana.

“People are taking their Doxy, dipping their cams, covering up at night and we have an effective fogging program in place,” he said.

Pesticides are sprayed in a diesel or water carrier within a mist, which creates the signature fog to get rid of any insect borne disease carriers.

“Every Forward Operating Base (FOB), Patrol Base (PB) and the retrans station gets fogged on a regular basis.”
The section is responsible for four areas of preventative medicine, disease carrier (vector) control, water quality analysis, food inspection audits and sanitation management.

The aim of disease carrier control is to minimise the transmission of malaria, dengue fever and any other communicable disease spread by insects.

The fogging program uses vehicle mounted foggers and the more commonly seen hand-held foggers operated by preventative medical support operators (PMSO) at the FOBs and PBs

Prior to deploying to East Timor, the PMSO were drawn from the AUSBATT where they conducted a week-long course on hand-held fogger operation.

Capt Campagnolo said other weapons in the arsenal of disease control were biological larvacides which could break the mosquito breeding cycle and residual pesticides sprays.

“We apply residual pesticides sprays to buildings which are harmless to humans but quite effective against insects, when they touch it, they fall off and die.

“We also target villages that are in close proximity of the FOBs and PBs with foggers and residual sprays.”

The bases also have mosquito trapping stations to determine what types of mosquitoes are breeding in that area.

Water quality analysis involves the random inspection of the 22,233 bottles of water AUSBATT drink in a week.

The water is imported from Indonesia and is periodically analysed at UN laboratories. Water checks are also conducted for ablutions as AUSBATT uses 1.1 million litres a week, the equivalent to 3.2 million stubbies.

Food inspection audits are carried out to ensure food hygiene and OH&S requirements are met in AUSBATT kitchens. The investigation into food related illness is also an area of responsibility for the section.

Locally contractors employed as kitchen hands receive hygiene education and testing for TB before starting work at the bases.

Finally, sanitation management, which aims to prevent the transmission of disease resulting from unacceptable field hygiene and waste disposal practices.

Capt Campagnolo said the previous statistics from INTERFET showed within six weeks of arrival in country, 60 per cent of personnel had some sort of gastro-intestinal illness but today the figures are extraordinary low.

“If we do our job properly there are less people with these illness and that’s a positive for anyone in country.”

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