[Laveran, the military doctor].

Son of Louis-Theodore Laveran, holder of the Chair of Diseases and Epidemics in the Armies at the Val-de-Grâce and grandson of an artillery commander through his mother, Alphonse, born in Paris on June 18, 1845, follows in his father's footsteps by entering the Imperial School of Military Health in Strasbourg at the age of 18.After his thesis, he participated in 1870 in the war against Prussia. He was taken prisoner in Metz.

[Epidemic and emerging prone-infectious diseases: Lessons learned and ways forward].

Africa along side with south-east Asia are the epicentres of emerging and epidemic prone-infectious diseases and megacity biosecurity threat scenarios. Massive mobility and reluctance in the populations exposed to epidemic and emerging prone-infectious diseases coupled by a weak health system made disease alert and control measures difficult to implement. The investigation of virus detection and persistence in semen across a range of emerging viruses is useful for clinical and public health reasons, in particular for viruses that lead to high mortality or morbidity rates or to epidemics.

Sexual health in the French military: a multidimensional and gendered perspective.

Background: Sexual health in the military comprises a range of concerns including sexually transmitted infections (STI), unintended pregnancy, sexual violence and sexual dysfunction. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of sexual health concerns by gender in the French military and compare these prevalences to estimates in the general population.

Methods: COSEMIL, the first sexual health survey in the French military comprises a probability sample of 1500 military personnel.

Impact of the Ebola outbreak on Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection medical activities in coastal Guinea, 2014-2015: A retrospective analysis from the Guinean national Human African Trypanosomiasis control program.

Background: The 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak massively hit Guinea. The coastal districts of Boffa, Dubreka and Forecariah, three major foci of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), were particularly affected. We aimed to assess the impact of this epidemic on sleeping sickness screening and caring activities.

Antibiotic therapy and staphylococcal skin infections in a tropical malarial zone (Guyana). Practices in conventional and exceptional situations.

A problem of community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus skin infections emerged in the French armed forces in 2004, in a malaria-endemic areas. The high incidence rate led us to evaluate military staff practices. This was a cross-sectional survey of doctors and nurses deployed as officers in French Guyana since 2006.

[Epidemiological aspects of Ebola virus disease in Guinea (december 2013-april 2016)].

Ebola Zaire species variant Makona between its emergence in December 2013 and April 2016, resulted in an epidemic of Guinea importance and unprecedented gravity with 3814 reported cases of which 3358 were confirmed (88.0%) and 2544 were died (66.7%).

Surveillance of adverse events following vaccination in the French armed forces, 2011-2012.

Objectives: French military personnel are subject to a compulsory vaccination schedule. The aim of this study was to present the results of surveillance of vaccine adverse events (VAEs) reported from 2011 to 2012 in the French armed forces.

Study Design: VAEs were surveyed among all French armed forces from 2011 to 2012 by the epidemiological departments of the military health service.

[History of malaria control in the French armed forces: from Algeria to the Macedonian front during the first World War].

The French joint military health corps has long experience in malaria control. Many military physicians played an essential role in the 19th century: Maillot revolutionized malaria treatment by using quinine during the conquest of Algeria, and Laveran discovered the causal parasite (the genus Plasmodium) there. This experience continued under the direction of Laveran and the Sergent brothers on the eastern front in Greek Macedonia during World War I.

Malaria control strategies in French armed forces.

Each year, 40,000 French soldiers deploy or travel through malaria-endemic areas. Despite the effective control measures that were successively implemented, malaria remains a public health concern in French armed forces with several important outbreaks and one lethal case every two years. This article describes the malaria control strategy in French armed forces which is based on three combined strategies: i) Anopheles vector control to prevent infection with the implementation of personal protection against vectors (PPAV) adapted to the field living conditions of the troops.

Prevention of infectious diseases during military deployments: a review of the French armed forces strategy.

Military personnel in operations have always paid a high toll to infections. In the 21st century some of these diseases still cause outbreaks with significant morbidity and impact on deployments. The new configuration of the French Armed Forces requires the permanent preparedness of deployable units.

Feedback on the management of the 2011 measles outbreak by French military general practitioners: an evaluation study.

Objective: Preventive measures were implemented in the French armed forces to limit the measles outbreak that occurred in 2010 and 2011. This study aimed to obtain feedback concerning the management of this outbreak by the French military general practitioners.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the general practitioners (GPs) in military units located in metropolitan France.

The 2009 A(H1N1) influenza pandemic in the French Armed Forces: epidemiological surveillance and operational management.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the contribution of a newly implemented daily surveillance system to the management of the 2009 A(H1N1) influenza pandemic by the military decision-makers at different levels in the French Department of Defence.

Methods: The study sample included all medical advisors in the Ministry of Defence and the French Armed Forces Staff and also the members of the specific committee dedicated to flu pandemic control. The variables studied were mental representation of epidemiology, relevance, usefulness, and real-time use of surveillance data using quantitative questionnaires and qualitative face-to-face semistructured interviews.

Emergence of Plasmodium ovale malaria among the French Armed Forces in the Republic of Ivory Coast: 20 years of clinical and biological experience.

Background: French military surveillance identified an increase in Plasmodium ovale attacks among soldiers in Ivory Coast. This emergence and the low sensitivity of biological tests raise the question of a possible role of P. ovale variant species.

Public health investigation in a military cAMP after diagnosis of rabies in a dog-Afghanistan, 2012.

Rabies is one of the risks to which travelers are exposed when going abroad. During the summer of 2012, a rabid dog died in an International Military Transit Camp in Afghanistan, leading to a public health investigation briefly reported here. The lessons learned from this episode are that such investigations are complex and that information for travelers needs to be improved.

The French Military influenza surveillance system (MISS): overview of epidemiological and virological results during four influenza seasons--2008-2012.

Question Under Study: Influenza is a viral infection caused by a pathogen with considerable ability for genetic mutation, which is responsible for seasonal outbreaks as well as pandemics. This article presents the results of epidemiological and virological monitoring of four successive influenza outbreaks in the French armed forces, for the period 2008 to 2012.

Methods: The main events monitored were acute respiratory infection (ARI).

Is serving in the armed forces associated with tobacco or cannabis initiation? A study of onset sequences before and after joining the French armed forces.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether joining the military could constitute a predictor of subsequent tobacco or cannabis use. Data from four cross-sectional surveys conducted between 2005 and 2009 in the French armed forces were used to constitute a retrospective cohort (n=4208). A Markov multi-state model was fitted, estimating the probabilities at 1year for all possible pathways between entry into the military profession, tobacco initiation and cannabis initiation.

The measles outbreak in the French military forces--2010-2011: results of epidemiological surveillance.

Objective: Since the start of 2010 there has been a flare-up of measles in France, following on the resurgence observed in 2008. The aim of this study was to present results of the epidemiological surveillance of measles in the French armed forces in metropolitan France and to describe the outbreak that occurred in 2010 and 2011.

Methods: Criteria for report were those used for French national compulsory notification.

The accuracy of self-reported data concerning recent cannabis use in the French armed forces.

Background: The aims were to evaluate the accuracy of self-report of past-month cannabis use in a representative sample of French military staff members and to evaluate the scale of the prevarication bias.

Method: Data from three cross-sectional surveys conducted between 2005 and 2008 (n = 3493) were used. The characteristics of self-report (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value) were computed using tetrahydrocannabinol detection in urine as the reference.

The 2009 A(H1N1) influenza pandemic in the French Armed Forces: evaluation of three surveillance systems.

Background: The French military forces had to modify their epidemiological surveillance systems at the time of the 2009 A(H1N1) influenza pandemic. The aim of this article was to present an evaluation of the different systems used.

Methods: Two influenza surveillance systems are usually used in the French forces: one permanent (Surveillance épidémiologique des armées or SEA) and one seasonal (Système militaire d'observation de la grippe or SMOG).

Psychosocial risk factors, job characteristics and self-reported health in the Paris Military Hospital Group (PMHG): a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To investigate the associations between psychosocial risk factors and self-reported health, taking into account other occupational risk factors.

Design: Cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire.

Setting: The three military hospitals in Paris, France.

Adverse events following vaccination in the French armed forces: An overview of surveillance conducted from 2002 to 2010.

French military personnel are subject to a compulsory vaccination schedule. The aim of this study was to describe vaccine adverse events (VAE) reported from 2002 to 2010 in armed forces. VAE are routinely surveyed by the military Centre for epidemiology and public health.

A cluster of acute diarrhea suspected to be cholera in French travelers in Haiti, December 2010.

A cluster of 21 cases of watery diarrhea suspected to be cholera that involved French military policemen and young volunteers occurring in the context of the Haiti cholera outbreak is described. The attack rate (AR) was higher among young volunteers (71.4%) than among policemen (15.

Mortality among active-duty male French Armed Forces, 2006-10.

Background: In the Armed Forces, knowledge about the causes of deaths is required in order to develop prevention strategies. This study presents the main characteristics of causes of deaths among male active-duty personnel in the French Armed Forces during the 2006-10 period and compares them with the general French male population.

Methods: The data are provided by military public health surveillance.