Check this out:
http://www.expatica.com/index.asp?HRSite= Virus spreads through Dutch troops
29 July 2003
AMSTERDAM — Dozens of peacekeeping Dutch soldiers stationed in the south of Iraq have caught a virus and the Defence Ministry is concerned that the number could increase to about a hundred.
There are 700 Dutch soldiers stationed in the war-torn Islamic country as part of the British-led stabilisation force. The troops are patrolling the thinly populated, hot and sandy desert province of al-Muthanna that borders Saudi Arabia.
A spokesman for the Marines said the troops were infected with the virus. He confirmed that military staff had anticipated the soldiers might catch a virus.
"Coalition allies in Iraq have also had to contend with similar health problems," news service Nu.nl quoted him saying on Tuesday.
The vulnerability of soldiers to viruses in the Middle Eastern country is due in part to the extreme heat, the different life style encountered, new foods and a higher concentration of viruses in the air. The virus causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
The Dutch Cabinet decided in June to dispatch 1,100 troops to the SFIR stabilisation force in Iraq to help secure law and order in the region. The heart of the Dutch contingent will be made up of a battalion of 650 marines, supported by a company of the engineering corps, a field hospital, military police and three Chinook transport helicopters and armoured transports.
A military advisor warned the Parliament before it backed the cabinet's decision in June that troops should remain vigilant against renegade Iraqis regrouping in the province after carrying out attacks against Western soldiers.
The troops are expected to remain in Iraq for six months and should any hostilities occur, the sufficiently armed and larger British force has guaranteed to offer the Dutch military support.
"... a higher concentration of viruses in the air..."
Anyone care to read between the lines on this odd phrase?
When is the normal flu season for Iraq?
Could be a link here. I'll just keep watching to see if anything else shows up. Good find!