TROOPS sent to fight in the Gulf will be at risk of the same mysterious illnesses that still plague many veterans from the Gulf war of 1991, veterans鈥� advocates are claiming.
Twelve years after the first military action in Iraq, there is growing acceptance that some people who served there are suffering from more than just stress. Among the 700,000 Americans involved in the first Gulf war, around 25 per cent more than expected are ill, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
Their symptoms vary widely, and the causes of the illnesses are still largely unknown. Two reports from the National Academy of Sciences, the latest released last week, conclude there is not enough information to determine the causes.
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A vast array of culprits have been proposed: from interactions between different pesticides and other chemicals, to exposure to low levels of nerve gas or other chemical or biological agents, and to depleted uranium or vaccines. Last month, 11 Australian sailors refused to take an anthrax vaccine many suspect might contribute to Gulf war syndrome.
Poor record keeping has made identifying the causes all the more difficult. Congressional investigators found that the military did not always keep vital information from the Gulf War about vaccinations, locations where individuals served and their possible exposure to chemicals.
The armed services say they will take extra precautions and collect more health information this time. But Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, says they are doing too little too late. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e scrambling trying to correct deficiencies that should have been corrected years ago,鈥� he says.
Barb Goodno of the Department of Defense says better chemical monitoring devices, centralised medical records and blood samples taken from troops before they are deployed will help protect against illnesses this time and make them easier to track.