OPERATION DESERT SHIELD 11 OCT 90

File: 970101_sep96_decls10_0001.txt
Page: 0001
Total Pages: 3

Subject: OPERATION DESERT SHIELD 11 OCT 90                               

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003205

Folder Title: OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE                                                                   

Document Number:          4

Folder Seq  #:         41




                                 Department of the Army
                               HO. 81-nd Airborne Division
                                   APO New York 09656

     @PVC-SU (40-5)                                             11 October 1990


     .-,IEMORANDU@ =OR COL Frederick J. Erdtmann, Chief, Preventive and Military
       Medicine Consultants Division, HO, Department of the Army, 5109 Leesburg
       Pike. @alls Church, VA 2@-041-3@@58

     =-IJE,J@L-T: 3Der-zk--ion Desert Shield - 2


     '. Enclosed @ind latest summary statistics from 82nd Airborne Division. The
     oie diagram reflects the most frequent conditions, with the exception Of
     dental. Bar graph reflects three of the iour most frequent. Note the early
     -.eav in URI sick call visits and the steadily rising increase in
     musculo-skeletal problems. I think these may continue high due to plans her
     to get ready for parachuting again. Training will start soon. Diarrhea is
     the decline. The rise in week 7 is attributable mainly to an outbreak of
     diarrhea in one battalion associated with the improper use of a water buffalo
     - +allure to dra2n before refilling and failure to maintain a chlorine
     residual. Fortunately, the diarrhea was relatively mild: watery stool, no
     4ever. no dysentery-like stool, rapid recovery.    We didn't hear about it at
     the tme. investigated by doc and PA at the outlying battalion.

     2. Not -e*lected is'an outbreak in one of our brigades here during week 9,
     which ends today.. It affected perhaps 50.out of two battalions. I
     interviewed 12 of the most severe cases who were put in holding beds at the
     TMC. I concurred in the clinicians' opinion that the cause was viral,.mainly
       -ause a+ the syndrome. Fairly abrupt onset of malaise, fatigue, high +ever
        2-103). chills, -Followed in short order by onset of watery diarrhea,
     vomiting once or twice, and aching all over the body. No respiratory
iologic link except +or unit
     origin. During the interviews, I finally noticed that some (4 of 12) showed
     either puffiness of the ;ace or marked facial erythemi, con+luent, that
     extended to the clavicles. For the three with red +aces, it looked just like
     a sunburn, except the patients all denied having been out in the sun and,
     indeed, their arms and trunks were pale by comparison.     Does this sound
     familiar to anyone out there I Unfortunately, all of them were quite
     recovered by Monday when I arranged for stool collections to bring to the N@
     lab at the Marine Corps Hospital (MCH). I did get three specimens from r-,--
     cases, not necessarily participants in the above outbreak.

     7. Aforementioned Navy lab is headed by a CDR Lou Bourgeois, LCDR Bill
     Morr-oll, CDR Craig Hyams (ID type), and they have already identified outbrei
     of ETEC and Shigella sonnei among Marines. They have been most eager to
     support us. I gather that they will provide, with support from Army resourc
     such as WRAIR and USAMRIID, the principal ID lab support for this theater.
     They and L-CDR Kevin Hansen (WRAIR graduate) told me about large outbreak of
     dysentery among Marines (? 1000 cases) apparently due to Shigella. There was
     another outbreak due to ETEC (? size). They report that Septrt resistance is
     common: -10-40% among ETEC and 90% among Shigella. All are sensitive to the
     quinolones. They were also able to support Deirdre ChriStenDerry who
     investigated outbreak among Army folks among Corps units. Her specimens also
          crowing GroLto D Shigella. For both the Marines and the Army, implicated
        e Tresn eoel::@oies, =,sr).      aria

Document 3 f:/Week-36/BX003205/OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE/operation desert shield 11 oct 90:12249609311911
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003205
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE
Folder Seq # = 41
Subject = OPERATION DESERT SHIELD 11 OCT 90
Document Seq # = 4
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 24-DEC-1996