Soldiers beat illness
Outbreak of dengue fever in East Timor

By Cpl Damian Shovell

DENGUE fever has claimed several civilian lives and infected two ADF personnel among the 120 posted to East Timor on Op Spire and working with the Defence Cooperation Program (DCP).

CO DCP Lt-Col Grant Sanderson said both ADF personnel had since recovered.

“They’re both OK, are out of hospital and are in the working environment and, believe me, are taking all possible safety precautions,” he said.

Lt-Col Sanderson said there had been no more cases among ADF personnel since implementing more stringent precautions and strategies to combat the outbreak that had been mainly contained to Dili and had not affected the around 70 ADF personnel in Moleana.

He said Australian medical personnel had also assisted the East Timorese government in responding to the outbreak.

“The total of deaths is over 11 or so at the moment – unfortunately mostly children,” he said.

“What we’re providing is sound advice to the East Timorese government and to hospital committees based on environmental health and precautionary measures for preventing further outbreaks.”

He said the additional precautions taken include issuing mosquito repellent at meal times, conducting patrols to eradicate breeding grounds around the accommodation areas for both the DCP and Op Spire personnel, and placing signs in Portuguese and Tetum around the barracks to inform the locals of the dangers.

“Unless we have a community resolve to clean up the breeding areas, it’s very hard to control,” he said. SO2 Preventative Medicine, Health Service Branch, LHQ Maj Rory Cain said dengue fever was endemic in East Timor.

A peak in reported cases was usual during the wet season and was not what he would consider an epidemic.

He said that ADF personnel in East Timor undertook preventive measures to reduce the risk of vector-borne diseases.

These measures included the use of anti-malaria medication, wearing sleeves down, using repellent, sleeping under mosquito domes, soaking uniforms with Perigen 500 and removing potential breeding areas around bases.

He also said that fogging using Reslin, which had been outsourced to a civilian contractor, was continuing.

Maj Cain said there was no medication or vaccination available to prevent dengue fever and “the only prevention is to avoid being bitten”.

He said the increase in reported cases was because the mosquito responsible for spreading the disease, Aedes aegypti, bred prolifically during the wet season.