Posted on 10/08/2006 4:40:30 PM PDT by ARealMothersSonForever
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of Iraqi policemen fell sick from poisoning Sunday at a base in southern Iraq after the evening meal breaking their daily Ramadan fast, and officials said they were investigating whether the poisoning was intentional.
An official with the Environment Ministry said 11 policemen had died. However, the governor of Wasit province — where the poisoning took place — denied any deaths, though he said some of the victims were in critical condition. There was no immediate explanation for the contradictory reports.
Some of the policemen began bleeding from the ears and nose after the meal, said Jassim al-Atwan, an inspector for the Environment Ministry, who was serving as a liaison in the investigation between the Health Ministry and the base, located in the town of Numaniyah.
"Hundreds of soldiers were poisoned after taking food and water in the iftar," Wasit Gov. Hamad al-Latif told the Associated Press, referring to the meal that breaks the sunrise-to-sunset fast during the Islamic holy month. "Investigations are under way to determine the cause."
Samples of the food and water were being tested "to determine the substance in them" and will be sent to Baghdad for further tests, al-Latif said.
Sunni insurgents who have targeted police and military forces with bombings and shootings have not been known to use poisoning as a weapon. But the suddenness and severity of the sickness raised speculation that the incident could be a new attack. The division is mainly made up of Shiites.
Between 600-700 policemen were affected to varying degrees, and 11 who had the heaviest amount of the food had died, al-Atwan told The Associated Press.
Some of the soldiers collapsed as soon as they stood up from them meal, others fell "one after the other" as they headed out to the yard in the base to line up in formation, al-Atwan said.
Iraqi ambulances and helicopters sent by the U.S. military rushed the policemen to hospitals in Numaniyah and the nearby city of Kut.
The afflicted policemen belonged to the 4th Division of the National Police, nicknamed the "Karrar" Division, after a title of Imam Ali, the most revered Shiite saint.
The division normally operates around the town of Salman Pak on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad — an area of intense Shiite-Sunni killings. The division was sent to the base in Numaniyah, 60 miles southeast of the capital, for further training.
Al-Latif said food and water at the base are provided by an Australian contractor working through Iraqi subcontractors. He did not identify the Australian firm.
I think they are flu-like symptoms. No bleeding.
That is what I was thinking. Especially with the rapid onset and the bleeding.
Arab food can be strongly flavored, so maybe it was mixed with a spice to disguise the taste. But some nerve agents have no scent, so maybe no taste either.
Heparin is broken down by digestive enzymes if taken orally. That is why it is give IV or IM.
As VP Dick Cheney so accurately said, this proves the Iraqi insurgency is "its last throes".
MYCOTOXINS
The trichothecene mycotoxins are highly toxic compounds produced by certain species of fungi. Because these mycotoxins can cause massive organ damage, and because they are fairly easy to produce and can be dispersed by various methods (dusts, droplets, aerosols, smoke, rockets, artillery mines, portable sprays), mycotoxins have an excellent potential for weaponization.
Strong evidence suggests that trichothecenes ("yellow rain") have been used as a biological warfare agent in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan. From 1974-1981, numerous attacks resulted in a minimum of 6310 deaths in Laos, 981 deaths in Cambodia, and 3042 deaths in Afghanistan. When taken from fungal cultures, the mycotoxins yield a yellow-brown liquid that evaporates into a yellow crystalline product (thus, the "yellow rain" appearance). These toxins require certain solutions and high heat to be completely inactivated.
Signs and symptoms
After exposure to the mycotoxins, early symptoms begin within 5 minutes. Full effects take 60 minutes.
* If skin exposure occurs, the skin burns, becomes tender, swollen, and blisters. In lethal cases, large areas of skin die and slough (fall off).
* Respiratory exposure results in nasal itching, pain, sneezing, a bloody nose, shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, and blood-tinged saliva and sputum.
* If ingested, the person feels nausea and vomits, loses appetite, feels abdominal cramping, and has watery and/or bloody diarrhea.
* Following entry into the eyes, pain, tearing, redness, and blurred vision occur.
* Systemic toxicity may occur and includes weakness, exhaustion, dizziness, inability to coordinate muscles, heart problems, low or high temperature, diffuse bleeding, and low blood pressure. Death may occur within minutes to days depending on the dose and route of exposure.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of an attack of trichothecene mycotoxin depends on the symptoms and identifying the toxin from biological and environmental samples. Many people with these symptoms may report being in a yellow rain or smoke attack.
Initial laboratory tests are not always helpful. Currently, a rapid identification kit for any of the trichothecene mycotoxins does not exist. Gas-liquid chromatography has been used in the past with great success. However, chromatographic methods lack great sensitivity, and presently alternative methods of detection are under investigation.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/biological_warfare/page5_em.htm
"About the only food related cause for bleeding from the ears that I can think of is a skull fracture from being force fed a frozen pot roast through the top of the skull."
You have an ex wife too ?
Additionally, it is something that the terrorists are completely familiar with. You may recall the booklets found in Afghanistan dealt extensively with Ricin and the terrorists a couple of years back were manufacturing it in England.
trichotecenes. Bulk quantities need a state factory. Iran will not be poisoning shiites, and there's not enough gain in it for the Syrians to compensate for the risks.
Re: ricin symptoms - "rapidly progressing pulmonary syndrome that is not responsive to antibiotics."
From the same source
Ingestion of ricin is generally less toxic because it is not absorbed well and may degrade in the digestive tract. Out of 751 ingestions recorded, only 14 resulted in a death.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/biological_warfare/page5_em.htm
How about a condition peculiar to Middle easterners .. like sickle cell to blacks?
I'm looking for the book,,,It's in the house,,,somewhere,,
"Yellow Rain" is the title,,It's about Chemical Warfare,,
Given that is difficult to wrap one's mind around this evil. . .makes it seem at least, almost surprising; if only for the moment it takes to do a reality check. . .
Jog ye back to your senses bump.
"SALMAN PAK
WORKED ON DIFFERENT KINDS OF BACTERIA DISEASES LIKE
CHOLERA, AND A DISEASE CARRIED-BY RATS IN THE MIDDLE AGES"
http://www.fas.org/irp/gulf/cia/960417/70485_01.htm
Warfarin inhibits the livers' production of coagulation factors (certain proteins in the coagulation cascade). If warfarin (coumadin) is taken it take several days for it to inhibit the synthesis of these proteins. The proteins circulating in the bloodstream are 'degraded' as it passes through the body. Normally it is in a steady state of production and degradation. If production is impeded, the degradation will continue on and thus the PT will become longer and longer. But for the first few days, we place people on theraputic doses of heparin IV or IM. Heparin is rapidly metabolized and must be given either continously or frequently.
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