Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2019

In the intertropical zone, malaria (or malaria) is one of the main infectious threats to which the French soldiers are confronted.

Individualized antimalarial prophylaxis prescribed by a doctor is essential before, during and after the stay in endemic areas.

In addition to preventive treatment, adopting individual and collective measures to protect against mosquitoes helps limit contamination and subsequent contagion.

Malaria (or malaria) is a parasitic disease (Plasmodium) transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito (of the genus Anopheles). There are different malaria depending on the plasmodium listed; the most dangerous is Plasmodium falciparum. The first signs of the disease appear a week to a month after an infectious bite.

Any fever, or unusual clinical sign occurring during or returning from a trip to a malarious area, must be seen by a doctor for early treatment of possible malaria.
Indeed, it is advisable to evoke the diagnosis of malaria until proof to the contrary.

In practice

For the beneficiaries of the military personnel assigned to an area where malaria is rife and whose rights are open to the CNMSS, the expenses related to antimalarial prophylaxis are covered on medical prescription.

The Army Health Service takes care of the preventive treatment of the military.

Along with prophylactic treatment, other measures must be put in place so that soldiers and their families are as well as possible protected from mosquito bites: this is vector control.

The main recommendations for preventing malaria are:

• the application of mosquito repellants to the skin
• use of mosquito nets on windows, and insecticide-treated bed nets
• wearing protective clothing impregnated with insecticides
• removal of stagnant water points likely to become reservoirs of mosquitoes
• use of air conditioning

Currently, no vaccine is available to fight malaria. In 2017, 219 million people were affected by malaria and 435,000 died from it.