Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

A7
U.S. NEWS Wednesday 22 november 2017

VA study shows parasite from Vietnam may be killing vets

to take part in the study, AP found. a spokesman with the De-
but hoped his participa- The numbers of claims sub- partment of Veterans Af-
tion could help save lives. mitted reached 60 in 2017, fairs. “But until further re-
He immediately scheduled up from 41 last year. Nearly search, a recommenda-
further tests, discovering he three out of four of those tion cannot be made ei-
had two cysts on his bile cases were also denied, ther way.”
duct, which had the po- even though the govern- Veteran Mike Baughman,
tential to develop into the ment posted a warning on 65, who was featured in the
cancer, known as cholan- its website this year saying previous AP article, said his
giocarcinoma. They have veterans who ate raw or claim was granted early
since been removed and undercooked freshwater this year after being de-
— for now — he’s doing fish while in Vietnam might nied three times. He said
well. be at risk. It stopped short the approval came right
Though rarely found in of urging them to get ultra- after his doctor wrote a let-
Americans, the parasites in- sounds or other tests, saying ter saying his bile duct can-
fect an estimated 25 million there was currently no evi- cer was “more likely than
people worldwide. dence the vets had higher not” caused by liver flukes
Endemic in the rivers of infection rates than the from the uncooked fish he
This 2016 photo shows a display of preserved liver fluke para- Vietnam, the worms can general population. and his unit in Vietnam ate
sites at the Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. A half a century easily be wiped out with a “We are taking this seri- when they ran out of ra-
after serving in Vietnam, hundreds of veterans have a reason to
believe they may be dying from a silent bullet. Test results show handful of pills early on, but ously,” said Curt Cashour, tions in the jungle.q
some men may have been infected by a slow-killing parasite left untreated they can live
while fighting in the jungles of Southeast Asia. for decades without mak-
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) ing their hosts sick. Over
By MARGIE MASON said Sung-Tae Hong, the time, swelling and inflam-
ROBIN McDOWELL tropical medicine specialist mation of the bile duct can
Associated Press who carried out the tests at lead to cancer. Jaundice,
HERALD, W.Va. (AP) — A Seoul National University in itchy skin, weight loss and
half a century after serv- South Korea. other symptoms appear
ing in Vietnam, hundreds of “It was surprising,” he said, only when the disease is in
veterans have a new rea- stressing the preliminary its final stages.
son to believe they may be results could include false The VA study, along with
dying from a silent bullet — positives and that the re- a call by Senate Minority
test results show some men search is ongoing. Leader Charles Schumer
may have been infected Northport VA Medical Cen- of New York for broader re-
by a slow-killing parasite ter spokesman Christopher search into liver flukes and
while fighting in the jungles Goodman confirmed the cancer-stricken veterans,
of Southeast Asia. New York facility collected began after The Associ-
The Department of Veter- the samples and sent them ated Press raised the issue
ans Affairs this spring com- to the lab. He would not in a story last year. The re-
missioned a small pilot comment on the findings, porting found that about
study to look into the link but said everyone who 700 veterans with cholan-
between liver flukes ingest- tested positive was notified. giocarcinoma have been
ed through raw or under- Gerry Wiggins, who served seen by the VA in the past
cooked fish and a rare bile in Vietnam from 1968 to 15 years. Less than half of
duct cancer. It can take 1969, has already lost them submitted claims for
decades for symptoms to friends to the disease. He service-related benefits,
appear. By then, patients was among those who got mostly because they were
are often in tremendous the call. not aware of a possible
pain, with just a few months “I was in a state of shock,” connection to Vietnam.
to live. he said. “I didn’t think it The VA rejected 80 percent
Of the 50 blood samples would be me.” of the requests, but deci-
submitted, more than 20 The 69-year-old, who lives sions often appeared to be
percent came back posi- in Port Jefferson Station, haphazard or contradic-
tive or bordering positive New York, didn’t have any tory, depending on what
for liver fluke antibodies, symptoms when he agreed desks they landed on, the