RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Bending the curve: force health protection during the insertion phase of the Ebola outbreak response
JF Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps
JO J R Army Med Corps
FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group
SP 191
OP 197
DO 10.1136/jramc-2014-000375
VO 162
IS 3
A1 Mark S Bailey
A1 K Beaton
A1 D Bowley
A1 W Eardley
A1 P Hunt
A1 S Johnson
A1 J Round
A1 N T Tarmey
A1 A Williams
YR 2016
UL http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/162/3/191.abstract
AB After >10 years of enduring operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defence Strategic Direction is returning to a contingency posture. As the first post-Afghanistan operation, in September 2014, a UK Joint Inter-Agency Task Force deployed to Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa. The aims were expanding treatment capacity, assisting with training and supporting host nation resilience. The insertion phase of this deployment created a unique set of challenges for force health protection. In addition to the considerable risk of tropical disease and trauma, deployed personnel faced the risks of working in an EVD epidemic. This report explores how deployed medical assets overcame the difficulties of mounting a short-notice contingent operation in a region of the world with inherent major climatic and health challenges.