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| Afghanistan |
| It isn't typhoid |
| 2002-05-18 |
| The Ministry of Defence on Saturday said it had identified the mystery ailment which has laid low dozens of British troops. Officials told journalists at a briefing it was "Winter Vomiting", an illness characterised by one or two days of vomiting and diarrhoea. Never heard of it. Twenty-two British servicemen reported sick on Friday with the illness that has struck a field hospital at Bagram Airbase near Kabul this week, taking to 40 the total number afflicted. Scotland was recently hit by an outbreak. "Winter vomiting disease is caused by a group of viruses called Small Round Structured Viruses," Dr Peter Christie, Consultant at the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health, said on a website. "They usually cause short-lasting outbreaks but are extremely infectious and can affect a high proportion of people in class rooms, hospital wards or even in tour buses." Important safety tip here... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |