A mysterious viral infection has forced military authorities in Germany to close 4 bases, ordering nearly 4000 personnel and their dependents to stay at home, authorities said on Fri 20 Feb 2004. The bases at Schwalmstadt, Schwarzenborn, Stadtallendorf, and Neustadt will be closed for 3 weeks while the premises are disinfected. “This is the worst single such infectious situation we’ve ever had,” a Defence Ministry spokesman.

The viral epidemic began in Schwalmstadt in the central German state of Hessen, when 150 of the 800 personnel stationed there complained of inflamed and itching eyes. The Bundeswehr closed that base last week. Just 4 days later, the same symptoms cropped up at nearby Neustadt, where all 800 service personnel were told to go home until further notice.

With some 14 000 troops stationed in Hesse, German military authorities became alarmed as 2 more bases were ordered closed. “Something is being transmitted between these bases — food, laundry, books — something that people touch with their hands and then inadvertently transfer to their eyes,” a spokesman said.

At the one base in the area that is still open, in Frankenberg, the base commander is confident the epidemic is waning. “We have had just a dozen reported cases of eye infection out of a base population of 1200,” said Colonel Peter Richard, Frankenberg base commander. “We have launched hygiene drills and cleaning campaigns aimed at ensuring that this does not spread any further.”

Bundeswehr medical officials note that infectious diseases are common at military bases due to the close confines of 1000 or more men and women living and working together. “This infection, however, is a definitely more stubborn than any we have seen in recent years,” one military doctor told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=4883

– Matthew Bruns Biomedical Engineering Hartford Hospital Hartford CT US

[A similar report in the Saturday edition of the Allgemeine Zeitung (summarised by Matthew Bruns) indicated that, following an outbreak of infection affecting about 230 soldiers in 6 barracks in northern and southern Hessen, some 4700 members of the German Federal Armed Forces have have been withdrawn from service. Disinfection of the 6 barracks is estimated to require closure for a period of three weeks.

It is not clear whether the 2 incidents are connected, and the descriptions of the illnesses are not sufficient to suggest a diagnosis. Outbreaks of adenovirus infection are not uncommon in military establishments, and some types of adenovirus infection have been associated with conjunctivitis in the past. More specific information is awaited. - Mod.CP] …………………cp/pg/dk

Patricia A. Doyle, PhD Please visit my “Emerging Diseases” message board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa Go with God and in Good Health

From Patricia Doyle, PhD
A ProMed Mail Post
From Matthew Bruns
2-25-4