[url]msnbc.com/news/752640.asp[/url]
Fever hits U.K. troops in Afghanistan
18 soldiers struck by mystery illness; 350 quarantined
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGRAM, Afghanistan, May 15 — Eighteen British soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been struck by a contagious but unidentified fever, and 350 people have been quarantined to prevent it spreading, the top British commander in the coalition said Wednesday.
BRIG. ROGER LANE said the 18 ailing men were all military medical personnel serving at the main allied air base at Bagram, about 30 miles north of the capital, Kabul.
Two of the soldiers were seriously ill and their next of kin have been notified, Lane said. One was evacuated to Britain for treatment while the other was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany. The rest are being cared for at Bagram.
“We believe it’s some kind of enteric (intestinal) fever, but we have yet to go and establish what exactly it is,” Lane said.
Soldiers first started reporting symptoms three days ago, including fever, diarrhea and vomiting, Lane said. The illness was similar to meningitis, but medics did not believe that was the culprit.
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Lane said the area around the field hospital where the sick soldiers work had been isolated and military police were deployed to prevent trespassers. Some 350 people work at the hospital.
About 1,700 British troops are currently deployed at Bagram and have been involved in two military operations in eastern Afghanistan since arriving in the country last month. There also are soldiers from countries ranging from Australia to Poland at Bagram, including about 2,700 U.S. troops.
Lane said, however, that no hospital personnel had left the base since they arrived. The hospital has treated almost exclusively British troops, though one Afghan was treated two weeks ago, he said.
Earlier this month, three British Royal Marines were evacuated to Bagram during an operation in mountainous eastern Afghanistan. Two were diagnosed with altitude sickness and one had dysentery