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 UNCLASSIFIED

 Investigators found that the eggs had been contaminated with the
 feces of chickens.

 (U) The search for the cause of the illness was a joint
 effort between the Air Transportable Hospital, the Air Force
 hospital located at King Fahd Air Base and the A1 Hada Military
 Hospital in Taif. The Prince Sultan Military Hospital on base
 made available a 47-bed ward and laboratory services. A care
 team of four nurses, six medical technicians, two physicians, a
 dietary therapist and one laboratory technician were assigned to
 work within the Saudi facility. The capacity of the USAF ATH
 would- only handle only 50 patients. Assistance from the RSAF
 medical community not only included the bedspaces of Prince
 Sultan Hospital but also laboratory and supply services from Al
 Hada Hospital. Even the CENTAF Surgeon General provided
 additional personnel to assist, as two auxiliary nursing teams
 from other ATHs in the theater were placed on temporary duty in
 the 833rd ATH.

 (U) By mid-afternoon on the fourth day of the epidemic, the
 A1 Hada Military Hospital confirmed the illness as salmonella.
 Following an immediate conference between the professional staff
 and Environmental Health Services the focus of the investigation
 turned to pinpointing the sources of contamination, namely food
 service and preparation areas. The next day, further tests
 conducted revealed that 41 of 48 cultures showed positive for

 UNCLASSIFIED
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