| Feb 10, 2008 @ 9:08 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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Bj864
Posts: 3,964
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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Germs/story?id=4233448
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| Feb 10, 2008 @ 9:53 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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SensualGemini
Posts: 6,922
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...From Iraq's soil and water, MDRAB "apparently" affects only those that already have depleted immune systems... but yes, among several other issues, a growing concern for domestic medical facilities since 2004.
...MDRAB was actually part of the reason for the conditions that brought Walter Reed to the spotlight; veterans are and were dying, that should have otherwise recovered.
...Deja vu to diseases from Vietnam and thus far, there is no mandate for same to be reported by the DOD to the public by the CDC. It will require a Congressional Inquiry to know the full extent of threat and how many Vets have presently been diagnosed by the bacteria that has/is growing resistant to prior drugs used to control.
MDRAB from Iraq
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| Feb 10, 2008 @ 9:54 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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nah12
Posts: 3,973
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and BJ ?????
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| Feb 11, 2008 @ 8:21 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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Bj864
Posts: 3,964
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and?
This was for information purposes.
I am wondering if they shouldn't be doing blood tests and treating those that are infected, before sending them home.
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 8:36 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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MusicMonster
Posts: 2,954
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Pretty scary stuff, all these weird new bugs we've been seeing lately!
Missouri S&T Biological Sciences
Acinetobacter baumannii is a pleomorphic, aerobic, gram negative bacillus. To be more exact the shape is oval lying somewhere between a coccus and a bacillus. The bacteria appear as pairs when viewed through a microscope and are similar to Haemophilus influenzae. A. baumannii is very common and easy to isolate from hospital type environments. Also it can be found in environmental sources such as drinking water, sewage and soil. Most of the time the microbe is only a colonizer and not likely to cause infections, but when it does the infections range from pneumonia and meningitis.
This bacterium is very hard to diagnose as the causative agent of infection because the symptoms that appear are indistinguishable from those that arise from other microorganisms. One way to confirm the presence of A. baumannii is to culture the cerebrospinal or peritoneal fluid. Blood counts are not specific enough for diagnosis. Once determined to be the cause of infection, A. baumannii is difficult to treat with antibiotics because it is so resistant to multiple drugs.
I found this microbe interesting because of the fact that it is highly uncommon for it to cause infections, yet the cases for A. baumannii infections have increased 20 fold for military personnel who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. One reason for this is that the particular strain isolated from the soil in Iraq is extremely hardy due to the harsher conditions in the Iraqi soil, according to Paul Scott, a researcher at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Another reason for the rise in infection rates is due to the lack of sanitation in the areas where the soldiers are first being treated before they can be transported to hospitals. Somewhere between first being wounded and the hospitals where the soldiers were transferred to they came in contact A. baumannii. The strain cultured from the infected soldiers was the same as the strain isolated from Iraqi soil. Once hospitalized the soldiers began to spread the infection to other patients in the hospitals. Because of the dirty conditions of the battle field A. baumannii infections have been a problem for soldiers since Vietnam. The prognosis is good in that doctors can usually find a combination of antibiotics that can kill the infection before too much damage is done, but the final outcome is dependent upon the underlying health of the patient.
Even though the damage can be minimized it is important for doctors to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Researchers are currently working to create a vaccination for military personnel that would have a higher likelihood of coming in contact with the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii.
Acinetobacter baumannii
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 8:54 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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nah12
Posts: 3,973
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I am wondering if they shouldn't be doing blood tests and treating those that are infected, before sending them home. so now they are to spend up to 15 months then wait for a complete physical in SEA and if god forbid they need medical treatment they are left behind to be treated with less resources than they would be given in the states and who knows by the time they were considered fit to return to the states they are then redeployed to where ever their next dusty stations is...........OH yeah buddy that's really letting them know how much we appreciate their service.......God bless the dear ole caring citizens of the USA
Yep, yep i know, god we got to keep you and the rest of America safe right........
But hey those illegal immigrants are all healthy and deserve to come and go as they please......hey, hey now don’t forget every one that enters the states on a visa or such from another country is fully healthy because they said so also............ 
May all those good deeds be returned your way my dear ones..........
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 10:16 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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eastham
Posts: 7,913
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So, nah, we show our caring by infecting the general population?
There are tens of thousands perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans with compromised immune systems. Individuals with HIV, who have undergone organ transplantation, severe diabetes, psoriasis, etc would all be at risk if a new communicable disease were introduced into the general population.
And while the microbes carried home by Vietnam era vets is relevant, so too are the millions of death caused by the Spanish Flu epidemic. The flu, brought home by returning doughboys, killed 20-40 million people worldwide and depressed the US life expectancy by more than a decade.
This is not to say that these microbes could do the same, but until we have a better understanding, treating these individuals before they return to US soil. Contagious disease can be unpredictable and deadly.
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 10:54 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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Gallows_Humor
Posts: 13,662
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But hey those illegal immigrants are all healthy and deserve to come and go as they please......hey, hey now don’t forget every one that enters the states on a visa or such from another country is fully healthy because they said so also............
But....she has a point here... ^^^
and to put this thread into perspective..
healthy people do not have much to worry about here..it is the critically wounded
or the immune compromised people that have something to worry about...
(If you need something to worry about... think flu pandemic......) 
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 11:00 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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blueyes101
Posts: 12,080
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I heard a line in a movie about the possible germs on any given New York subway railing....... The millions who pass through on a daily basis.....  And then get on a plane.......... to ANYWHERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Germs are germs, I'm more concerned about those who use so much antibacterial soap and antibiotics they will help produce the super bugs that can really wipe us out.
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 7:21 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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Bj864
Posts: 3,964
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so now they are to spend up to 15 months then wait for a complete physical in SEA and if god forbid they need medical treatment they are left behind to be treated with less resources than they would be given in the states
It doesn't really take very long to do a blood tests and get the results.
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 7:58 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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jamminjerry
Posts: 4,085
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there are many aspects of our society that costs little and take only a few moments. but, we are a capitalistic society. the rich man demands the most for his penny. which simply means handing them my dollar. when and until someone beats the chit out of that monkey pulling the left or right handle, this tit for tat game will continue. i figure thats the way the rich man wants it. simians arguing over semantics. i figure that dumb arse is just a sacrifical lamb, its time for the Dems to get a few bills paid so that the chinese don't demand fort knox in return. but, then again, why don't we inflate the hell out of everything and buy all our dollars back! LOL yep, i figure thats whats gonna happen! that rich man ain't no fool. we give that chinese idiot a dollar in 08 and he has to give us a hundred back in 09! LOL
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 8:14 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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SensualGemini
Posts: 6,922
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Jerry wroteLOL yep, i figure thats whats gonna happen! that rich man ain't no fool. we give that chinese idiot a dollar in 08 and he has to give us a hundred back in 09! LOL
...Sort of the way I have it figured to happen. Slow down their buying up the world.
East wrote:This is not to say that these microbes could do the same, but until we have a better understanding, treating these individuals before they return to US soil. Contagious disease can be unpredictable and deadly.
...East, sometimes you baffle me with your concepts of liberalism. If you have AIDS, walk the streets and spread it however you like. If you are Illegal and can make it here, some 30 or 40 million of you without a health exam, you are welcome with open arms. If you are a Leper and can make it across our border, there is free health care in Houston. And god forbid, that any foreign traveler that lands on US soil should be required for a health exam, because same is not required of anyone else...
(...except those coming here legally through Immigration channels.)
...But put on a US uniform, serve your country as so ordered by both Democrats and Republicans and dammit, stay the hell out until you are cleared of anything infectious.
...What you say, when the draft returns? Think the "Doughboys" had an option? Personally, I just add the consequences to the actions of war, that both the dems and reps voted for. 
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 8:18 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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nah12
Posts: 3,973
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BJ your are talking about here in the states about time frame on a blood test….guess you never when to a deployment process and seen how long it takes to process say 20 thousand blood test......plus leaving them with less access to medical care, not seeing family, and etc.........
Look at all the people that come into this country every day that you have NOT a clue what disease they carry....heck there are people walking around every day with infectious deadly disease you pass on the street....
Do you remember a few months back about the guy (USA citizen) that got on a plane knowing he had an infectious disease not once but twice and flew out of the country to get married and a honeymoon........do you really think he is the only case?
How about all the people that never get tested for aids and keep having unprotected sex?. Then that person does the same and on and on……..
How about all overseas flights that could carry someone with bird flu?
How about all the illegal immigrants that are allow to cross the border with out a blood test to check for say TB or anything else?
Do you believe that our service men and women deserve to be treat as lesser citizens than NON US citizens?
But you still want to punish the one group of men and women that put their live on the line....much less how their families feel and let NON citizens of the US do as they wish simply because you didn't think about or didn't know???
Let me ask you this, do you or your family ever go to the hospital? Do you know that is one of the most lethal places to contract a deadly infectious disease?
So how many blood test do you want to give? How about where you work?
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 9:23 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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jamminjerry
Posts: 4,085
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Gem, my hope is that the rich man has a wise man in charge, or even a wise woman! it is simple, i hand you a dollar and tell you that its worth a buck 10 cents! if ya chinese i will bullshit ya and say its worth a buck 20! the fed says we need to devalue our dollar so that we can compete with the duh! chinese! LOL now our buck is only worth 10 cents! the chinese get real pissed off, and bomb us! LOL so, the rich man says, we need to bomb china back! LOL. you know the game! oh yeah and life goes on!
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 9:33 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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MusicMonster
Posts: 2,954
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It doesn't really take very long to do a blood tests and get the results.
Well it's not quite that easy though. If you read that longer blurb I posted above, it is not terribly conclusively defined by blood tests. First you apparently have to suspect it as the bad guy, as it can appear very similar to other strains including some kinds of pneumonia. I gather that is much of the complication found with it. Just identification. Then it requires cultures, which take quite a bit more time. At least as I read it.
-MM
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| Feb 12, 2008 @ 9:39 PM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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eastham
Posts: 7,913
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...East, sometimes you baffle me with your concepts of liberalism. If you have AIDS, walk the streets and spread it however you like
Gemini, try reading the attachment. This is a fastidious gram-negative bacillus, which means it can be spread by being air borne and is highly contagious from casual contact. You don't have to commit an overt act to acquire an infection, like having sex with someone, to acquire an infection from this type of bug. All you have to do is stand next to someone in an elevator. He sneezes and you have the bug.
Other gram negative bacillus, fastidious type cause the following diseases: whooping cough, brucellosis (which the US military once considered a candidate for bacterial weapons), tularemia, meningitis, etc. All of these are highly contagious, which is why whooping cough, for example, was one of the first diseases for which we developed a vaccine.
Given that whooping cough, brucellosis and other gram negative diseases are currently prevented by vaccine, I would assume they are working on the vaccine for acinetobacter baumannii.
Doctors quoted in the magazine article agreed. "Of the infectious disease problems that come out of the conflict, it is the most important complication we've seen," Dr. Glenn Wortmann, acting chief of infectious disease at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, said in the February issue of Proceedings, published by the U.S. Naval Institute, a professional organization focused on naval issues.
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| Feb 13, 2008 @ 12:55 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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nah12
Posts: 3,973
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Sorry East but you still don't get it and didn't read it all or you choose to ignor the rest...we already have some serious infectious disease problems and have for years and this is only one of the many examples you choose to ignore....when you have a real answer then come back...but being afraid of what you have little knowledge of or care to ignor is dangerous also......but hey you have so much caring for humanity and the US citizens (except for the military) maybe you can take up this one
Governments urged to make killer bugs a priority
Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook What's this? By Robert Davis and Jennie Coughlin, USA TODAY
A killer bacteria known as MRSA has been a growing problem for years, particularly in hospitals and nursing homes. But in a week's time, it has moved to the front burner of public attention, turning a spotlight — and increasing criticism — on the nation's public health system.
A landmark study indicating MRSA kills 18,000 Americans each year, along with reports of outbreaks in schools across the nation and the death of a high school student in Virginia, has renewed calls for more aggressive government action to help prevent the spread of the "super bug" — a bacteria named methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.
Patient-safety advocates, government health specialists and local officials acknowledge that the nation has not done enough to halt the rapidly rising death rate from a germ that, despite its resistance to antibiotics, is easy to stop with soap and water before it burrows into the body.
"We have the knowledge to stop this problem," says Betsy McCaughey, chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. "What has been lacking is the will." McCaughey and other health specialists say that slowing the death rates will require action on several fronts, from public health facilities, hospitals, schools and individuals.
"The medical community has to do a lot more to prevent these infections in the first place," says Elizabeth Bancroft, an epidemiologist at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. "The public health community has to do a lot more education for patients."
The U.S. government has documented increases in MRSA deaths for 20 years, but McCaughey and other critics say it has not forced the simple changes that would prevent needless deaths.
McCaughey recounts horror stories from families who lost loved ones to the infection because hospitals did not follow cleanliness practices such as mandatory hand washing by doctors and nurses.
If this one is not good enough and you need some more just let me know.......
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| Feb 13, 2008 @ 1:51 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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SensualGemini
Posts: 6,922
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East wrote:Gemini, try reading the attachment. This is a fastidious gram-negative bacillus, which means it can be spread by being air borne and is highly contagious from casual contact. You don't have to commit an overt act to acquire an infection, like having sex with someone, to acquire an infection from this type of bug. All you have to do is stand next to someone in an elevator. He sneezes and you have the bug.
...East, I don't have to read it; the first strain was found in the late 60's (Vietnam)and why do you think this strain is only found in the soil adjacent to the waterways of Iraq that flow from the North (Kurds)? It is also now found in Kuwait to the south.
...Or here is another question, how many Iraq's have died from this... say on purpose? Now, was it Saddam, the Turks, or?
...But no, Iraq never had any WMD's and I guess you have to define what one is and more specifically, where it came from. My guess for this bacteria would be from the University medical lab exchange for international disease control, or... ?
...It is treatable, the question is knowing if the patient has been contaminated while having other issues.
...So far, only .06 of military tested positive and as they take more and more soil samples, they will pretty much have Iraq mapped out to where this strain lives in the ground and also water that is around 80 F. If it was me, I would not be swimming in the Euphrates river.
...If you are interested, here is an unclassified map of recent locations:
http://www.acinetobacterbaumannii.org/mapping.html
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| Feb 13, 2008 @ 7:22 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military.
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eastham
Posts: 7,913
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Actually, the cases have been coming out of Afghanistan, but you didn't need to read the attachment! 
Nah, MRSA had its own thread. Don't know where you live, but here in New York, we've had several cases all related to local sports teams, mostly high school. Coaches have been educated and now my 5-year-old nephew can recite verbatim why you don't share your towels. The New York Public Health Department has also done an educational campaign in sports clubs.
[Edited on 2/13/2008 7:43 AM]
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| Feb 13, 2008 @ 8:35 AM |
Bacteria being carried to the U.S. by our military. |
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SensualGemini
Posts: 6,922
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Good Morning East... Alright, where did you provide a link at? You said to read the attachment, of which I may be blind, but don't see any from you.
The one from BJ as the OP? I read that one to begin with and it said:
"The outbreak began traveling with patients or nonpatients from Iraq all the way back to Walter Reed," said Dr. Rox Anderson at Harvard Medical School."
The one from MM?
"yet the cases for A. baumannii infections have increased 20 fold for military personnel who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom"
...So, unless I missed something, what I know has been going on for some time is what I gave to you in my reply as accurate for this bacteria strain specific; not what is in your local showers.
...The only question you need to answer for yourself, is was it a WMD and maybe there is the issue you have in considering Bush was right... or more accurately, Blair and Thatcher was right.
[Edited on 2/13/2008 8:42 AM]
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