Exercise Talisman Sabre: Influenza outbreak hits soldiers at Shoalwater Bay

A platoon’s worth of international troops have been laid low by a all-too-familiar foe as the Australian winter bites.

THEY may be able to stop an enemy combatant, but even international military forces are no match for Australia’s influenza outbreak.

More than 30 soldiers in two weeks have presented to a deployable field hospital set up in the middle of central Queensland’s Shoalwater Bay Military Training area with flu-like symptoms.

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Military doctors say half of those who presented were confirmed to have influenza.

Major Andy Grieve from the Australian Army’s 2nd General Health Battalion said the majority of the soldiers confirmed to have influenza were from the New Zealand Defence Force and were sent to the Rockhampton Hospital for isolation.

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Speaking from inside the 2GHB’s field hospital set up near Williamson Airfield as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre — which involves 35,000 ANZUS personnel — Maj Grieve said the 30 beds in the ward in the 95m long tent hospital were almost full thanks to soldiers with the flu or other types of upper respiratory tract infections.

“We’ve had an influenza outbreak,” he said.

“The Kiwis seemed to have brought a lot of illness with them on the boat.

“Because of the potential for it to become epidemic, particularly out on the battlefield, we have to take everything seriously so we make sure we isolate those patients and get them out to Rockhampton.”

Maj Grieves, based in Enoggera, said it was mandatory for Australian military personnel to have a flu vaccine, however some members of the New Zealand military who fell ill were not vaccinated.

“What we have noticed some of the Kiwis who have come over haven’t been immunised,” he said.

“It’s against our standard operating procedures so I would suggest that it would be no doubt fed back to the Kiwi chain of command.”

But the Commanding Officer of the Enoggera-based 2GHB, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Manuel, downplayed the claims.

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He said the number of soldiers infected with the flu was in line with cases reported in the area.

“There are a number of influenza patients we have seen in the exercise area, both at this facility and other facilities that are out there supporting our troops,” he said.

“What we’re seeing from the data coming back - in terms of epidomlogical data - is that the presentations are consistent with what’s in the community here in Central Queensland already.”

Lt Col Manuel said it was not uncommon for field hospitals to see a number of non-battle injuries or diseases, such as influenza, during war or training exercises.

Queensland’s confirmed flu cases so far this year have surpassed 25,000, about five times the five-year average at this time of year.

Queensland Health figures show at least 51 people have died from influenza-associated deaths in 2019, eight more than recorded for 2018.

The medical staff at the 2GHB’s deployable field hospital support about 10,000 people involved in the eighth Talisman Sabre, Australia’s largest biennial joint training military exercise with the US.

The peak of the exercise, which involves 34,500 personnel also including some from the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Japanese militaries, started July 11 and goes through to July 24.

An amphibious landing — one of the peaks of the exercise — is expected to take place sometime Tuesday as troops out on ships head to land to battle the fictitious enemy.