'Baghdad Boil' disease afflicts 148 GIs in Iraq

USA Today ^ | Dec. 5, 2003 12:00 AM | Anita Manning

[cateizgr8]

Nearly 150 U.S. soldiers in Iraq have been diagnosed with a parasitic skin disease and hundreds more could unknowingly be infected, doctors reported Thursday.

Doctors fear that soldiers returning from the front may consult doctors in the United States who have never seen the disease. Complicating matters: The best drug used to treat it is not licensed in the United States.

[netmilsmom]

Yuck.
God Bless our Troops, they are very BRAVE, in more ways than we know.
I though threats of scabies in our schools were bad!

[bethelgrad]

Wonder if they are anything like those 100 chigger bites I recieved while at Red River Gorge last summer

[RonF]

The problem isn't so much the bites as the parasite that is passed along into the bitten person. The bites heal. The parasite must be killed.

[finnman69]

http://www.who.int/tdr/diseases/leish/default.htm

http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Leishmaniasis.htm

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/images/305leischmaniasis1.jpg

http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/news/photos/fullsize/lg_sandfly.jpg

[isrul]

The article isn't clear to me. Is the drug that the army will use the one that is not licensed in the U.S.? Or is a a less effective substitute?

Babylon is such a stinking pest hole.

[WackyKat]

My copy of Traveler's Health by Richard Dawood( a great book I recommend to everyone) says it is caused by a single celled internal parasite that can cause persistent skin ulcers that lead to disfiguring scars. Much worse than chiggers

[DumpsterDiver]

Here's another nice picture...

[AmericanInTokyo]

damned sandflies!

[AmericanInTokyo]

Great photo 'ya got there, to induce vomiting if having had accidentally consumed Drano.

[TRY ONE]

Is it true that the 'Baghdad Boil' disease first manifested itself 2 days after Hitlery left Baghdad????

[Ranxerox]

Wonder if they are anything like those 100 chigger bites I recieved while at Red River Gorge last summer?

Polite folks 'round chere calls 'em chegroes.

[Eagle Eye]

The cutaneous form is curable if treated early. It has a tendency to make syphillus chancres look pleasant.

The visceral form is fatal. And ugly in the process. Good thing that it is extremely uncommon in Iraq.

[wideminded]

I know a guy who has been doing post-doctoral research on leishmaniasis for several years. I'm going to send him this article to see what he says.

[Drammach]

Citrus Oil, Boric Acid powder, and Garlic..

Doesn't the Army know anything?

Citrus Oil, especially from Oranges and Lemons is extremely offensive to mice and fleas..
Likewise, Boric acid powder kills fleas and other insects like roaches.
Both should be used in and around all military barracks, tents, and even in vehicles, especially troop carriers.

Garlic is an important part of the diet in such areas, as the fleas don't like it.
If you taste bad they won't bite you. (as much)

As usual, the military treats "after the fact", treating the symptoms, and not the cause.
"An ounce of prevention..." etc..