Army continues to review pneumonia cases

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Army continues to review pneumonia cases

 

By Spc. Bill Putnam

September 8, 2003

 

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 8, 2003) -- Army medical teams are

investigating why some service members who became infected with pneumonia

in Southwest Asia had signs of Eosinophilla and others didnt.

 

Of the 19 serious cases diagnosed since March 1, 17 were soldiers. One

Marine and sailor have also been diagnosed. Only one woman has been

diagnosed with serious pneumonia.

 

Eosinophils are white blood cells known to fight certain infections,

especially hay fever and allergies, a press release from the U.S. Army

Surgeon General's office said.

 

Concerned about the number of cases, the surgeon general sent two

Epidemiological Consultation teams to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center,

Germany, and Iraq in July to assist medical personnel investigate why the

cases were happening.

 

The teams' main job in Iraq and Germany is to look for common time, place

or symptoms noted in medical records, said Lyn Kukral, a Surgeon General's

office spokesperson.

 

" The teams are continuing to study why it's occurring in some of the cases,

but not all of them, " Kukral said. " We don't know why they are there; but

it's not a major breakthrough. "

 

The 19 service members were deployed to Central Command. All of the cases

required ventilator support, but two died and 17 were evacuated to Germany

for further treatment, the release said.

 

A majority of the cases happened in Iraq with the rest happening in Kuwait,

Qatar, Uzbekistan and Djibouti, the release said.

 

Two cases occurred in the same battalion, one in March and one in August.

The cases are also spread over time: two cases occurred in March, two in

April, one in May, six in June, four in July and four in August. Most of

the cases were treated at Landstuhl after evacuation.

 

The teams will make preventive or corrective recommendations based upon

their findings.

 

There isn't any evidence of an infectious agent common to all of the cases,

the release said. In four cases, the teams have identified various bacteria

as the cause and those service members have recovered.

 

No evidence of exposure to chemical or biological agents, Severe Acute

Respiratory Syndrome or environmental toxins has been found either, the

release said.

 

The Army and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in

Atlanta, Ga., are working together in the investigation, Kukral said.

 

Having the CDC help the Army isn't unusual, she said.

 

" They're welcome to help because of their expertise, " Kukral said.

 

The CDC is " validating " the lab work done by the Army, and a CDC

epidemiologist is also working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in

Washington to help review the cases, Kukral added.

 

Army-wide, pneumonia serious enough to warrant hospitalization occurs in

about 400 to 500 soldiers a year. The approximately 100 total cases of

pneumonia in Central Command since March 1 do not exceed expectations, the

release said.

 

Death from pneumonia in a young, otherwise healthy population is rare, but

it does occur: from 1998 through 2002, 17 soldiers died from pneumonia or

from complications of pneumonia.

 

While officials from the Army Surgeons General office say there is not

evidence the severe pneumonia is spread from person to person, they

recommend soldiers take the following precautions:

 

· Wash hands often, especially after sneezing or blowing your nose. Use

baby wipesif running water is not available.

 

· Cover your mouth with your sleeve when sneezing or coughing.

 

· When sleeping in tents, sleep in a foot to headpattern with maximum

distance between cots.

 

(Editor's note: A press release from the U.S. Army Surgeons General Public

Affairs Office contributed to this story.)

http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5208