Mystery blood clots kill U.S. troops

prolog.net ^ | Monday, 06-Oct-2003 8:58PM | United Press International

[Destro]

Mystery blood clots kill U.S. troops Monday

06-Oct-2003 8:58PM

Story from United Press International

Copyright 2003 by United Press International (via ClariNet)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Several U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi war died from sudden illnesses and a United Press International probe shows those were triggered by unexplained blood clots.

The Pentagon says blood clots caused two soldiers to collapse and die. At least eight other soldiers have also collapsed and died from what the military has described as non-combat-related causes.

NBC reporter David Bloom also died of a blood clot in his lung after collapsing near Baghdad.

The UPI investigation by reporter Mark Benjamin also points to another disturbing factor of soldiers becoming ill or dying from similar ailments in the United States. In some cases, the soldiers, their families and civilian doctors blame vaccines given to them by the military, particularly the anthrax or smallpox shots.

Some of the soldiers who died suddenly had complained about symptoms suffered by Bloom -- including pain in the legs that could indicate problems with blood clots.

The UPI investigation found 17 soldiers who died of sudden illnesses.

"I would say that that number of cases (blood clot deaths) among young healthy troops would seem to be unusual," said Dr. Jeffrey Sartin, an infectious diseases doctor at the Gundersen Clinic in La Crosse, Wis.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Hey, there's always spelling correction!

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

Hmmm, there's a thought.
Though, with the way I type, that's asking for trouble!

[Lijahsbubbe]

Now, if only I could get your post pulled for incorrect spelling....... heh heh....

[TheAngryClam]

Ever read "The Andromeda Strain," by chance?

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

Well, I did screw up the link to the Medline dehydration article. Does that count?

[Lijahsbubbe]

MODERATOR!!!!

[piasa]

"I would say that that number of cases (blood clot deaths) among young healthy troops would seem to be unusual," said Dr. Jeffrey Sartin, an infectious diseases doctor at the Gundersen Clinic in La Crosse, Wis.

My oh my, I just had one of those feelings and decided to plug in the name "Dr. Jeffrey Sartin" with Red Flags Weekly's "Dr. Meryle Nass" and whaddaya know, they turn up together!

Dr. Nass belongs to an obscure group which violated the sanctions on Iraq,, seems like they were called "doctors and nurses for responsibility and peace" or some such thing; she also had a tour in Cuba, and evidently in Rhodesia as well allegedly in the med field. We have to take her word for it on this. She is the author of a report (not a medical paper though some played as if it were) of a cutaneous anthrax outbreak in Africa. (Not inhalation anthrax.) The report never made it into any medical journals and its play was limited to the fine communist webzine "Red Flags Weekly" and other lefty sites which picked it up after some sources fingered Hatfill. (You must be a member of DU to appreciate Red Flag's op eds, I suppose.)

Nass had spent some time aiding protesters who were up in arms over US tritium production among other things, in the 90s. Depleted uranium and all that.

The intent of Nass and Rosenberg is to shut down US military research into biowarfare defense. So i is never a shcok to see people in the same circles as Nass, old protester that she was, still at it.

[U S Army EOD]

I realize this happens but so does sitting at a desk, computer, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc.

[LadyDoc]

dehydration and sitting without moving make one prone to blood clots.

For example, the BBC had a couple health columns last year about long airline flights and blood clots.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/1886083.stm

One way to decrease the risk would be to have all soldiers take an aspirin every day. However, if they were shot or in a car wreck, taking an aspirin would increase the amount of bleeding from wounds, and so it would probably kill more people than prevent deaths from DVT

If you are sitting, support stockings (TED hose) also prevent clots, and I usually wear them on long flights. However, they are hot and uncomfortable, and if you bend your knees they wrinkle. So again not practical for combat. But helpful on long flights.

[ntnychik]

I hope this isn't going to be a mystery in the same vein of gulf war syndrome...

Rim shot! Your pun was a stroke of genius.

[Alamo-Girl]

Very interesting, piasa! Thank you so much for the information and analysis!

[Fred Mertz]

The UPI investigation found 17 soldiers who died of sudden illnesses.

With 17 cases I would assume they'd have found the common cause. I expect it's those anthrax shots, so they can't publicly say so.

[aristeides]

However, if they were shot or in a car wreck, taking an aspirin would increase the amount of bleeding from wounds, and so it would probably kill more people than prevent deaths from DVT

Is death from blood loss really that much of a risk when our soldiers presumably have easy access to transfusions and plasma?

[aristeides]

Do we know whether the anthrax shots provide protection against the anthrax the Iraqis had/have? I know anthrax antitoxin can cause serum sickness, but is it riskier than the immunization shots?

[Constantine XIII]

Dehydration is also a likely factor. The air out there sucks the water right out of you.

[aristeides]

Something for your data banks?

[aristeides]

You're interested in Bioport, El Hibri, and Adm. Crowe, aren't you?

[U S Army EOD]

Perhaps, but we have been operating in dry climates for a long time. If all of a sudden, we are having problems with blood clots and the information is accurate, we need to look elsewhere for a cause.

[archy]

Ever read "The Andromeda Strain," by chance?

You are suggesting a source of extraTerrestial origin?

-archy-/-

[Constantine XIII]

Is there any similar occurance in Army history? That column went for a long time without stopping. I don't know enough to say one way or another, so I'll bow to your knowledge of these things. :p