Malaria Hits British Soldiers in Kabul

Doctors have been advised to look out for malaria in British service personnel returning from Afghanistan after six soldiers contracted the disease.

Four were serving with the international security assistance force (Isaf) in Kabul and two were camped at the Bagram airfield north of the Afhgan capital where British commandos were based.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that one case was of a particularly virulent strain but the victim was responding to treatment.

All six soldiers had returned home and none was in hospital.

All British trooops were warned before they were deployed to take proguanil and chloraquine tablets to protect against the disease which is spread by mosquitos whose parasites enter the blood stream of their human victims.

The MoD said its forces were also provided with mosquito nets and insect repellent and were briefed about the potential dangers.

It was possible that the soldiers with malaria had stopped taking tablets, defence officials said.

The public health laboratory service for England and Wales warned doctors to consider a malaria diagnosis if they saw service personnel presenting with fevers, flu-like illnesses or other unexplained symptoms.

Malaria is easily treatable if diagnosed early. About nine people die from it each year in Britain but there are around 2,000 cases "imported" annually. Many are among people of African or Asian origin returning after visiting their families, although about a tenth of cases occur among holidaymakers and a smaller proportion among business travellers.

There were 34 cases in the armed forces last year. Eight of the nine people who died in 2001 had not taken any protective treatment and the other had stopped taking it.

The PHLS is anxious to identify any other cases that might result from the Afghanistan mission.

It recognised that the MoD had recommended "full preventative measures to soldiers.

"It is difficult to reach full compliance under military operational conditions," the PHLS said.

This is the second health problem to affect British personnel, 48 of whom were hit by Norwalk-like virus, an unpleasant gut infection which causes diarrhoea and projectile vomiting.