• G Dennis Shanks.
• Australian Defence Force Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
• Intern Med J. 2023 Jan 1; 53 (1): 145149145-149.

AbstractCasualties during the occupation of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force starting in September 1914 were limited to six dead during a few initial armed clashes and the loss of RAN submarine AE-1, followed by a few years of tropical disease exposures. A dengue epidemic affected most soldiers within a month of their arrival in Rabaul. Subsequently, a malaria epidemic swept through the occupation forces in January 1915 infecting a majority of the soldiers and killing five. Malaria was eventually controlled by daily draughts of quinine solution. Diarrhoea/dysentery was a particular concern among the local contract labour force. Skin diseases were a major chronic problem of tropical service. Twenty-seven non-combat deaths over 4 years (<1%/year) were considered a 'healthy' outcome for the occupation force which consisted largely of men unfit for active service in the Australian Imperial Force. No one should under-estimate the modern requirement to protect non-immune soldiers or travellers going to Papua New Guinea for extended periods.© 2023 Commonwealth of Australia. Internal Medicine Journal © 2023 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

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