Knowledge of infectious disease reporting amongst military and civilian medical officers.

Anecdotally expressed concern over the military/civilian interface regarding infectious disease notification, and the current review of procedures in both civilian and military settings prompted this study. Its aim was to quantify knowledge of doctors involved in the provision of care to Army personnel and their dependants in the United Kingdom regarding infectious disease reporting and make recommendations to improve the process. A questionnaire was sent to all such military and civilian doctors in the Southern Military District of England. The group was no less knowledgeable than others studied previously. Differences were found in the knowledge of reporting procedures between civilian and military doctors, with military hospital doctors demonstrating particularly poor knowledge. It is recommended that specific instruction on all aspects of infectious disease reporting be given to doctors joining the Army and to civilian GPs involved in care of the Military.