(More than 650) US soldiers in Iraq hit by (flyborne) parasite (in Iraq) [View All]

[UpInArms]

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11352337%255E1702,00.html

MORE than 650 US troops deployed in Iraq have been infected with a fly-borne parasite that causes chronic, festering sores, officials said at a health conference in Miami.

About 660 soldiers were found to have contracted the leishmaniasis parasite since US troops launched operations in Iraq in March 2003, Colonel Naomi Arenson, an expert on the disease at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre, said.

The cases found in Iraq are all of cutaneous leishmaniasis, which is seldom lethal, and usually heals over time but can leave significant scarring.

If left untreated, simple skin sores in rare cases can spread to the nose and mouth.

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The most severe cases from Iraq are sent to the Walter Reed hospital, just outside Washington, for treatment. But US forces have recently set up facilities for basic treatment in Baghdad and Kuwait.

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