Fever hits U.K. troops in Afghanistan

AP, via MSNBC ^ | 16 May 2002 | AP

[Vigilant1]

At least 20 soldiers struck by mystery illness; nearly 350 quarantined

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, May 16 —  Another 20 British soldiers in Afghanistan have come down with symptoms of a mysterious disease, and one of the men was so sick he was to be evacuated Friday, a British military spokesman said.

SEVEN BRITISH soldiers have already been evacuated — six to Britain and one to a U.S. military hospital in Germany — since the outbreak began Sunday.

Lt. Col. Ben Curry said two of the 20 soldiers were isolated after displaying symptoms of the unknown disease, but it was unclear what it was.

British officials discovered the possible new cases Thursday after a senior medical officer ordered a check of all British troops deployed at Bagram air base "in order to identify anyone who displayed the symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting."

Curry said the 20 personnel had reported the symptoms during the check. The most serious case was to be evacuated to Britain Friday, while two others showing serious symptoms of the infection were isolated and treated.

Eight patients have recovered so far, but are still under quarantine.

Military officials have rejected the possibility of a biological terrorist attack.

Two experts in communicable diseases were being flown into Afghanistan to assess the situation, Curry said.SEVEN BRITISH soldiers have already been evacuated — six to Britain and one to a U.S. military hospital in Germany — since the outbreak began Sunday.

Lt. Col. Ben Curry said two of the 20 soldiers were isolated after displaying symptoms of the unknown disease, but it was unclear what it was.

British officials discovered the possible new cases Thursday after a senior medical officer ordered a check of all British troops deployed at Bagram air base "in order to identify anyone who displayed the symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting."

Curry said the 20 personnel had reported the symptoms during the check. The most serious case was to be evacuated to Britain Friday, while two others showing serious symptoms of the infection were isolated and treated.

Eight patients have recovered so far, but are still under quarantine.

Military officials have rejected the possibility of a biological terrorist attack.

Two experts in communicable diseases were being flown into Afghanistan to assess the situation, Curry said.

About 5,000 soldiers from some 10 countries are in Bagram. None of the about 2,700 American troops deployed there are thought to have contracted the illness, said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Bryan Hilferty.

[Vigilant1]

Biowarfare ??? Miltitary press releases say "no way", but it wouldn't surprise me if they were just covering it up to avoid panicking or destroying the morale of the rest of the troops in that theatre of operations.

[Clara Lou]

It's easy to automatically leap to the worst conclusion. The retired military man on FOX last night said that it is not unusual for an entire unit to be come ill. They live so closely that when one becomes ill, the illness spreads quickly.

[tonycavanagh]

Its a Gastric problem, stomach cramps an all that, similar to the old deli belly new British troops experienced in India.

Cheers Tony

[mewzilla]

All it takes, especially for GI bugs, is for people to be careless about washing their hands. That said, is this bacterical or viral? If it's the former, shouldn't they know by now? How long does it take to get a titer back on a virus? But thorough and frequent handwashing ought to be the order of the day, eeven after they solve this problem.

[aristeides]

FYI.