[A French soldier returns from the Central Africa Republic with hepatitis A: Vaccination failure is possible!]. 
In stays in tropical countries, the French military, and travelers in general, are exposed to diseases transmitted by the fecal-oral route, some of which are vaccine-preventable.  Here we report a 42-yer-old soldier with hepatitis A, which first appeared on his return from a military operation in the Central African Republic.  Despite its excellent immunogenicity and a duration of seroprotection extending beyond 20 years in the vast majority of cases, the hepatitis A vaccine can fail.  This reminds us of the importance of combining vaccine and non-vaccine prevention in tropical countries, especially in precarious living conditions.