One-fourth of Gulf War veterans ill
Published September 26, 2007
One-fourth of Gulf War veterans ill
Les Blumenthal
Source:
http://www.theolympian.com/news/v-print/story/227309.html
Sixteen years after the Persian Gulf War ended, more than 1 in 4 of those who
fought remain seriously ill with medical problems
ranging from severe fatigue and joint pain to Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple
sclerosis and brain cancer, the chairman of a
congressional advisory committee testified Tuesday.
But even as more is learned about what's now called Gulf War Veterans Illness,
the Defense Department and the Department of
Veterans Affairs remain in virtual denial about its causes, and have been slow
to offer treatment, said James Binns, the head of
the research advisory committee on the disease. "This is a tragic record of
failure, and the time lost can never be regained," Binns
told the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. "This government manipulation of
science and violation of law to devalue the health
problems of ill veterans is something I would not have believed possible in this
country until I took this job."
Pentagon and VA officials defended their approach to studying and treating the
illness, saying they're taking it seriously, funding
clinical and other research, and are committed to ensuring that Gulf War
veterans receive needed care.
"Veterans who report health problems are definitely ill," said Michael
Kilpatrick, the Defense Department's deputy director for
force health protection and readiness programs. "However, they do not have a
single type of health problem. Consequently, these
veterans have to be evaluated and treated as individuals."
Though the focus was on the earlier Gulf War, concerns hovered over the hearing
that those now fighting in Iraq might face
similar medical problems.
Fifteen percent to 20 percent of those who've fought in Iraq recently are
returning with "ill-defined" medical symptoms,
Kilpatrick said. He didn't elaborate.
Among those testifying was Julie Mock, a 40-year-old mother of two from Seattle
who served along the Iraq-Kuwait border with a
medical unit. In early 1991, the alarms of chemical detectors went off
repeatedly, she said.
"We ingested expired pyrostigmine bromide tables; we wore gas masks with expired
filters, inhaled dust and sand in the air that
was thick with the black of burning oil," she said. "I experienced respiratory
difficulties, my skin grew hot with red rashes and I
began to suffer from debilitating headaches."
Four years ago, Mock was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease
that affects the central nervous system. Her voice
choking with emotion, Mock told the committee that her oldest son has Tourette's
syndrome and a handful of other neurological
problems. Her youngest son has some of the same disorders.
Mock said she was convinced that the pre-deployment vaccines she received and
chemical and other environmental exposures she
underwent while serving in Iraq caused her health problems and those of her
children. Her husband also served in the Gulf War but
in a different area. He hasn't reported problems with his health. "We know
persons who deployed with us in theater who have not been
healthy since their deployment, and we know that there are many who have
deteriorated slowly over the years and who are now in
crisis," she said.
Of the 700,000 or so U.S. troops who served in the Persian Gulf War, 175,000 to
200,000 are sick, Binns said. Others who testified
said that in addition to the pre- deployment vaccines, the problems that Gulf
War veterans experienced might have been caused
by exposure to the depleted uranium used in munitions and armor, low-level nerve
agents such as sarin that were released when a
large weapons depot was destroyed, and smoke from more than 600 burning oil
wells in Kuwait.
The VA has conducted more than 330 projects associated with the health problems
of Gulf War veterans. The agency will launch a
study next year of possible links between the veterans and brain cancer and
multiple sclerosis, said Joel Kuppersmith, the VA's
chief research and development officer.
"VA's commitment to funding clinical trials to identify new therapies for ill
Gulf War veterans continues to this day," he
said.
Kilpatrick said effective therapy for the veterans' health problems was
available, including treatment for those with
chronic, unexplained symptoms.