7 more cases of mystery illness (soldiers in Iraq)

Lake Sun Leader ^ | Marsha Paxson

[FairOpinion]

7 more cases of mystery illness

Military trying to identify malady that killed lake area soldier

By Marsha Paxson

Lake Sun

LAKE OF THE OZARKS -- Seven more soldiers in Iraq have contracted the same puzzling illness that has killed two soldiers, including one from the lake area.

The latest cases bring the number of affected troops to 19. All have been evacuated to the same Landstuhl, Germany, hospital where Spec. Josh Neusche, 20, of Montreal was treated before he died July 12.

It is believed Neusche contracted the illness, first thought to be pneumonia, while conducting cleanup operations with the 203rd Engineer Battalion in Baghdad.

"The Army Surgeon General confirmed that three or four of the soldier's in Josh's unit are among those who got sick," Sen. Ike Skelton told the Lake Sun Tuesday. "I know Josh was stationed in Baghdad when he got sick but I still do not know what unit the second soldier (who died of the mysterious illness) was in, what his job was or where he was working when he became ill."

Skelton said he had not yet been told which units the sick soldiers were attached to or where they might have been before they fell ill. U.S. Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. James Peake has ordered teams of medical experts and epidemiology specialists to retrace the soldiers' steps from the second they set foot in the Middle East.

"They are investigating everything it could possibly be," Skelton said. "I'm confident that with medical science and the technological advances we've made, we will get some positive answers."

Skelton, who serves as the ranking Democrat of the House Armed Services Committee, contacted top officials with the Department of the Army when he first learned of Neusche's case in late June.

Neusche's family could not afford to make the trip to Germany and was told he was in a coma, dying of a flu-like ailment.

Fellow soldiers chipped in for airfare and Skelton expedited their passports and paperwork to get them to Germany in time.

When Neusche's parents arrived in Germany on July 9, the illness had already begun ravaging his muscles, liver and kidneys. Neusche died in an ambulance on the way to another hospital for dialysis.

Cindi and Mark Neusche said that as they watched their son's health get worse, they noticed other soldiers were beginning to fill nearby hospital rooms.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome, which mimics some of the symptoms exhibited by the ailing soldiers usually targets the lungs and is not known to break down other organs.

Skelton said the surgeon general has completely ruled out severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as SARS, as the cause.

"For some reason doctors have been able to eliminate SARS as a possible explanation for the soldier's deaths and sickness."

A month long study by doctors and scientists is expected to include a review of the soldiers' medical records and testing on blood and tissue samples in Germany. A separate team will conduct soil, water and air tests in Iraq and Kuwait to determine if a common denominator exists between the suspect cases.

Skelton says he's hanging on to hope for definitive answers -- and soon.

"The deaths of our American soldiers is a tragedy to start with," Skelton said. "They were just doing their duty to their country and to die of a unknown cause just makes it worse.

"It's heart-wrenching that two families have already buried their loved ones, not knowing what killed them. Closure is something we cannot give them until we get answers."

[FairOpinion]

Nuclear tests are not the same as depleted uranium.

Maybe the French weren't safety conscious enough. But that has nothing to do with depleted uranium.

[shaggy eel]

,,, thanx for this. I'll get into it and check it out.

[mark502inf]

You have to be exposed to high radiation or at least moderate amounts for a very long time, to suffer any ill effects. ,,, like all the cancer patients taken to Paris each year from French Polynesia?

Perhaps. But that has absolutely no relevance to the effects of depleted uranium. You have some strange misconceptions--you need to do some research.

[shaggy eel]

Nuclear tests are not the same as depleted uranium.
Maybe the French weren't safety conscious enough. But that has nothing to do with depleted uranium.

,,, no, it has nothing to do with depleted uranium, but long term exposure to moderate atmospheric doses is what I was referring to - your post #55.

[shaggy eel]

you need to do some research.

,,, I will. I'll be back to you for clarification if anything stumps me. I'm glad I've stumbled over an expert.

[mark502inf]

Sorry, I wrote the last post prior to receiving yours. Go ahead and check it out for yourself--lots of myths associated with DU that have been repeated so often in the non-scientific press that it is difficult for the truth to get out.

[Calpernia]

I think this should go in your ping list!

[Ditter]

I had an intresting talk with a Desert Storm soldier on Sat. He said he had heard that Gulf War Syndrome might be from diet drinks sitting around in the desert heat until the aspartame turned into formaldahide + all the pills they had to take. Have you heard this?

[shaggy eel]

I wrote the last post prior to receiving yours

,,, LOL! That happens! Thanx for that link. I'll be into it soon.

[BlackVeil]

I agree with shaggy that there are health concerns about DU, but I don't think it is relevant to this case. Such symptoms take several years to manifest.

[Calpernia]

>>>>Q Fever is a rickettsial organism. As I remember, was born first in line with the baby boomers, this is a characteristic looking thing. One of those can't miss it types. I would think they had eliminated it. Saw a good explaination on the Gulf War Syndrome....more of an accumulation of something by being vaccinated so much for everything!!! and this was some sort of a carrier. We do not do enough testing of this stuff.

I still can't help but remember Uday's editorial I copied from Iraq2000 before it was shut down:

"We, in turn, have to prepare, so if we discover that a certain parasite or disease is in the air, we take our care and prepare our medications and the suitable reaction for each action."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/860029/posts

[BlackVeil]

I had not heard that rumour about the diet coke, but I would not be surprised. The railways in Aust used to serve such cans, which had been cooled down after several hours waiting on the platform in the blazing sun. It is only anecdotal - but some of us were very sick after drinking diet drinks on the train.

About Iraq, this flu leading to liver failure has been seen before - among Iranians who had fought in the Iran/Iraq war. Some of them had been gassed during their war service.

There is also another illness from Iraq, which I am convinced we will see in the future. It is these blood borne fevers in southern Iraq - they come out of the marshes. It is like malaria, but very virulent. If anyone gets it, they never can shake it they have it for life.

When the Iranians were advancing on Basra, (in 1983?) they seemed to be doing well, but suddenly the whole army lay down sick, and their generals could not do anything with them. It was this dreadful super-malaria-like fever.

[shaggy eel]

,,, interesting development at post #68. I just mailed Ditter about a substance called phetakeralneurics - I bet I've got that wrong - name and spelling. The substance I was thinking of went into the cans or bottles of soda that soldiers in Vietnam had, to boost morale. I just remembered that and wondered if the stuff that was supplied to the Iraq campaign was at all modified.

[BlackVeil]

Ping. Diseases - natural and acquired.

[Ditter]

Where is Aust?

[Denver Ditdat]

With bioterrorism and SARS we wave the 50 years good-bye.

Yep. Add to that the mis- and overuse of antibiotics, and we're ripe for a plague.

[Lucy Lake]

Thanks for the ping. Yes, I'm very interested.

[BlackVeil]

That is Australia - where temperatures get right up, like in Iraq.

Incidently, there was an Australian camera man wounded in Iraq several weeks ago. He had shrapnel, and was evacuated to Germany, where he was reported on the news to be doing well. Then, within 48 hours, it was reported he was dead. I wonder if he had caught this flu.

[MightyMouseToSaveThe Day]

You ask about Eboli. I believe that's fairly easy to diagnose because it makes victims bleed from every imaginable orifice. Rather distinctive. I hope to God that these soldiers haven't come across any biological weapons.

[BlackVeil]

Add to that the mis- and overuse of antibiotics ...

And factory farming of pork and chicken, so that people are eating animals that were raised on antibiotics. No one can convince me that that sort of thing is safe.