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HH6/Resident Beerwench
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Last Login: 12/13/2008 6:58 AM
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12 Marines Contract Malaria in Liberia
12 U.S. Marines Contract Malaria on Liberia Mission; 21 Other Cases Suspected, Officials Say
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Sept. 8 —
Twelve U.S. Marines who were in Liberia last month in support of a West African peacekeeping mission have contracted malaria and 21 others have symptoms of the disease, defense officials said Monday.
Two of the Marines were flown from the USS Iwo Jima warship off the coast of Liberia to a U.S. medical center in Germany on Saturday and 31 others were flown from the ship Sunday to the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Marines, members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., were in Liberia in mid-August as part of a U.S. quick-reaction force of about 150 U.S. troops. They operated from an airport outside Monrovia, the capital.
U.S. troops normally receive an anti-malarial drug regimen before deploying to a country like Liberia where there is risk of getting the disease.
Details on the sick Marines' condition was not immediately available.
Malaria is transmitted by mosquitos that breed in stagnant water and tall grass.
The disease kills 3,000 children a day in Africa and robs the continent of millions of dollars in lost productivity, the United Nations said in a report early this year.
The mosquito-borne disease infects 300 million people a year in the poorest continent and has become increasingly resistant to drugs, said the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF. Yet there are ways to control the disease, they said.
EDITORS: Associated Press reporter Pauline Jelinek contributed to this story.
- "Hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women are deployed across the world in the war on terror. By bringing hope to the oppressed, and delivering justice to the violent, they are making America more secure. "
George W. Bush
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Seasoned Vet
 
Group: Registered User
Last Login: 10/2/2005 10:13 PM
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I saw a guy with Dhenghe Fever. Not pretty. Malaria is bad too.
Anybody remember how much in advance you have to start taking your pills?
Go with God, but make Him walk the point.
If you load a mudfoot down with a lot of gadgets he has to watch somebody a lot more simply equipped - say with a stone axe - will sneak up and bash his head in while he is trying to read a Vernier. - Robert Heinlein
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Strong Like Bull, Smart As Rock
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Keep the Peace and Be of Good Behavior
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Last Login: 9/8/2008 3:06 PM
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Malaria sucks, trust me! [ ]
Unfortunately there are alot of mosquitoes in Africa that are becoming resistent to chloroquin/primaquin. In the 70's and 80's there was a massive campaign by the WHO to eliminate the disease through killing skeeters and medication, but they stopped short of the goal, and the anopholes mosquitoes that survived the campaign are the strongest of the previous group.
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