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Twenty More British Troops in Afghanistan Contract Mystery Illness
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| Doctors are unable to identify the source or nature of the infection striking down U.S.-led troops. |
BAGRAM BASE, Afghanistan, May 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Twenty more British troops have contracted the mystery illness in Afghanistan, taking the total number of U.S.-led forces struck down to 38, BBC’s online news service reported Friday, May 17.
One of the new fever sufferers, believed to be a Royal Marine of 45 Commando, is seriously ill and will be flown back to the U.K. Friday.
It is the first case of the unidentified fever spreading to the fighting force and heightens concerns about the impact on the operation, BBC said.
It added that while the new cases include soldiers outside the existing quarantine area in Bagram, seventeen others are understood to have mild symptoms.
The exact nature of the illness, which appears to be contagious, is not yet known and medical tests continue to isolate the cause. First symptoms of the disease are diarrhoea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.
The attempt to identify the mystery illness has not yet been successful, as the numbers of affected soldiers increase.
The British defense ministry spokeswoman had said Wednesday, May 15, that 18 British army medical personnel based at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, were struck by an unidentified "feverish" illness, Agence France-Press (AFP) reported.
All 18 were working at the 34 Field Hospital at the Bagram airbase which has now been closed as a precautionary measure, except to treat similar cases.
Six more British military personnel flew out of Afghanistan Thursday, May 16, amid the increasing spread of the mystery contagious disease at the base.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Curry told AFP 333 military personnel remained under quarantine within the perimeter of 34 Field Hospital.
Curry said doctors had been unable to "categorically identify the source or nature of the infection". He added that it's an infection of the gut akin to gastro-enteritis, but to begin with some of the symptoms were more like meningitis.
The six being flown out Thursday had shown signs of diarrhoea and vomiting but were not listed as seriously ill.
One more patient was flown out Wednesday, but had been taken to Germany as it was the nearest top-class care facility, said Curry.
Given the seriousness of the casualty, according to AFP, they wanted to get him to first-rate medical care as quickly as possible and that's why the plane went to Germany as opposed to waiting another hour or hour-and-a-half to go to the U.K.
Curry said those who were struck down with the illness, both men and women, had been eating a combination of locally-purchased and imported military food. He added that as a force protection measure everyone is now on operational rations which is sterilized food.
All medical staff treating the patients were wearing masks, gloves and aprons, while Tests were being carried out to revealed the nature of the disease.
U.S. spokesman Major Bryan Hilferty said one American soldier had shown some similar symptoms, but was not thought to have the same disease. He said diarrhoea and vomiting were "not uncommon in Afghanistan".
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