Casualty Evacuation in the Australian Defence Force
Introduction This article is the latest of a series regarding the role of occupational and environmental medicine in the ADF.1,2,3,4,5,6 These articles, as well as a recent Productivity Commission inquiry,7 indicate that high workplace illness and injury rates confirm the need to improve the management of hazards associated with ADF workplaces, with better emphasis on […]
Rehabilitation in the Australian Defence Force
Introduction This article follows previous papers by the author, regarding occupational and environmental medicine in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).1,2,3,4,5 They assert that high rates of workplace illness and injury indicate the need to improve the management of hazards associated with ADF workplaces, with better emphasis on prevention. This assertion has been independently supported by […]
Gulf War Illness in the 1991 Gulf War and Gulf Era Veteran Population: An Application of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kansas Case Definitions to Historical Data
E Dursa, S Barth, B Porter, A Schneiderman Introduction In the initial years following the 1990–1991 Gulf War, reports of a complex array of medically unexplained symptoms began to emerge among US Gulf War veterans.1,2 This cluster of symptoms, which included fatigue, pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, respiratory symptoms, dermatological symptoms, neurological symptoms and cognitive symptoms,3-9 collectively […]
Eye in the sky: Understanding the mental health of unmanned aerial vehicle operators.
D Wallace, J Costello Abstract Background: Recent conflicts in the Middle East have seen rapid developments in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The Australian Government plans to acquire a number of UAVs to perform a range of operations. Purpose: To determine whether UAV operators are exposed to greater or special risks to their […]
Epidemic of Processionary Caterpillar Dermatitis in Military Cadets
D Randell, M Fett, H Jenner, S Frances, D Shanks Abstract: Not all epidemics are due to infectious diseases. We report an epidemic of processionary caterpillar dermatitis occurring in military officer cadets participating in a field exercise. The risk of caterpillar dermatitis was unappreciated by those on a map exercise near Majura, despite seeing such […]
Special Operations Task Group Regimental Aid Post Presentations, Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan: February – June 2010
Abstract Background: The Australian Defence Force (ADF) Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, is supported by a Primary Health Care Team (PHCT) which provided health care through its Regimental Aid Post (RAP). Purpose: To identify and analyse the types of injuries and illnesses for which SOTG personnel are seeking primary health care […]
Tularaemia
Sue Sharpe Tularaemia is caused by the intracellular pathogen Francisella tularensis, a small, pleomorphic, aerobic, Gram negative coccobacillus which requires a complex cysteine-containing growth medium for laboratory cultures. Capsules may form in tissues. The pathogen is not highly heat resistant but will survive freezing and drying. It survives well in the environment – especially in […]