Baghdad boil
Defense Spending Bill Includes $10 Million Sought by Daschle to Stop Blood-Borne Parasites in Iraq and Afghanistan
Pentagon spends millions to treat rare disease, yet canceled prevention research
(WASHINGTON, DC) – The Senate today passed its FY 2005 Defense Appropriations bill, which includes Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle's request for $10 million for research into efforts to prevent and treat a skin disease that has cost the military millions of dollars and 60,000 lost duty days in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The passage of this provision in the defense appropriations bill marked the second victory this week in Daschle's efforts to fund research for leishmaniasis. On Tuesday, the Senate passed the FY 2005 Defense Authorization bill, which included $5 million for leishmaniasis research.
Leishmaniasis (LEESH-mah-NYE-uh-sis) is spread through the bite of infected sand flies, which feed on human blood. Although not a threat in the United States, the disease is much more common in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the 660 reported cases represent the largest epidemic for the military since World War II. U.S. troops have nicknamed it the "Baghdad Boil."
Senator Daschle first began seeking a solution to the leishmaniasis problem in the fall of 2003. In December 2003, he contacted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to express concern about the elimination of leishmaniasis funding and urge him to reallocate funds from other accounts to keep the research going. As a result, the research effort received $1.2 million in March.
"I am glad the Senate has twice this week recognized the need to fund this research. Leishmaniasis research has been under-funded for several years, and our soldiers and taxpayers are now paying the price. Caused by the bite of an infected sand fly, the disease produces lesions that can aggressively spread, eventually causing disfigurement," Senator Daschle said. "Researchers say adequate funding could allow them to develop a field treatment for leishmaniasis within two to three years."
Current methods for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are crude and little-changed from 100 years ago. The treatment itself is toxic, slow and painful and requires close supervision by trained staff, who are available only at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The military has imposed a one-year ban on blood donations by anyone who has returned from Iraq because the symptoms can take months to develop and because even those who recover can still have the parasite in their blood. This disease can cause large lesions anywhere on the body, and can leave permanent, sometimes disfiguring scars.
A 1998 article in Military Medicine estimated per‑patient treatment costs of $17,000, as well as 92 lost duty days per leishmaniasis case. Based on 660 cases, that aggregates to $11.2 million for leishmaniasis care and 60,000 lost duty days.
A copy of Senator Daschle's letter to Secretary Rumsfeld can be seen
here and photos depicting the effects of leishmaniasis can be seen
here
Saved from here
