Health problems of peacekeepers carrying out mandatory tasks in Chad, Central Africa.

BACKGROUND The article presents the results of the author's own studies concerning the morbidity profile in the group of soldiers serving in the Polish Military Contingent (PMC) deployed to Chad in the period May 2008-April 2009 within the framework of a European Union operation (EUFOR) and a United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINURCAT). MATERIAL AND METHODS The conducted analysis was based on medical records of soldiers (n = 540) treated at Level 1 (FOB Iriba) and Level 2 (HQ Abeche) medical centres located in the operational zone where the PMC was stationed. Irrespective of the evaluation of diseases of particular organs and systems, parasitological examination for the presence of intestinal parasitic diseases using a light microscopy were carried out. RESULTS The research has demonstrated that the most serious health problems occurring in the group of Polish soldiers in the given period included: skin diseases (22.7%), respiratory tract diseases (18.9%), digestive tract diseases (12.9%), and non-battle injuries (9.2%). CONCLUSIONS Parasitological examinations toward intestinal parasitic diseases, conducted among Polish soldiers (n = 247) in the mission area in April 2009, revealed the occurrence of protozoan pathogens (55 cases of Giardia intestinalis, 2 cases of Entamoeba histolytica/dispar).