Summary information in respect of notifications of infectious diseases is available from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on their website. However, issues may arise in regard to the accuracy of such data in respect of Defence Force personnel, as situations may arise where the status of the individual as a member of the Defence Forces was either not recorded or not declared.
While members of the Defence Forces are encouraged to present to the military medical system, they may opt to present to a civilian general practitioner who may not be aware that they are a member of the Defence Forces. Equally, there may be members of the Defence Forces who contracted malaria while on holidays in other areas where risk of malaria exists.
Therefore, the Defence Forces are not in a position to corroborate the figures collected by the HPSC attributed to Defence Force personnel.