11/15/93

MYSTERY DISEASE STILL PLAGUES DESERT STORM TROOPS

By: Ralph Denago

CHICAGO, IL-  Persistent reports of a "mysterious malady"
afflicting Persian Gulf veterans continue to be received by
Veteran's Administration (V.A.) officials at numerous
veteran's hospitals.  The latest revelations concern
confirmed reports by a Czechoslovakian chemical warfare team
of the existence of detectable traces of both Mustard Gas and
the nerve agent Sarin in Saudia Arabia during Operation
Desert Storm.  As many as 8,000 troops, who served in the
Persian Gulf, have filed claims with the V.A. for service-
connected disabilities resulting from service in the Middle-
East.

Defense Secretary Les Aspin said, however, that U.S. chemical
experts could not confirm the source of the possible
contamination of U.S. troops, as reported by the Czechs.
Aspin is quoted by Time magazine as saying, "there were no
SCUD missile launches, no artillery exchanges, or offensive
actions...at this time...  that could have delivered the
chemical agents".  Other experts reportedly have pointed to
the possibility that the toxins were the result of a
"contaminated cloud" that was produced by the partial
destruction of a Iraqi chemical production facility located
in Southeast Iraq.

Other soldiers have described incidents of possible Iraqi
chemical deployments involving SCUD missiles.  Several troops
have given potentially viable descriptions of chemical
warfare attacks against the rear areas in Saudia Arabia.
Many are said to be suffering symptoms that are consistent
with acute or chronic exposure to chemicals. Medical
authorities at the Army's Walter Reed Hospital and elsewhere
say, however, that they continue to explore all of the
possibilities because they don't have conclusive evidence of
the actual route of introduction of the exposures.

At least one knowledgable physician says that it is possible
that the troops are suffering from prolonged exposure to
smoke containing petro-chemicals, produced by the hundreds of
Kuwaiti oil wells that were set on fire by fleeing Iraqi
soldiers.  Major General Ronald Blanck, of Walter Reed Army
Hospital, says that he believes that the soldiers may have
been exposed to some "industrial chemical", but is less
specific in his assessment of the identity of the actual
cause.  Medical experts, prompted by renewed interest in the
issue, are said to still be exploring a variety of other
explanations for the so-called "Gulf War Syndrome".

Desert Storm veterans suffering from unexplained symptoms
since service in the Persian Gulf are encouraged to contact
their local Veteran's Administration medical facility for
additional information.