Vietnam Vet? get tested

Started by Hoofer, November 22, 2017, 05:35:54 PM

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Hoofer

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/11/21/parasite-killing-veterans/

QuoteThe Department of Veterans Affairs this spring commissioned a small pilot study to look into the link between liver flukes ingested through raw or undercooked fish and a rare bile duct cancer. It can take decades for symptoms to appear. By then, patients are often in tremendous pain, with just a few months to live.

Of the 50 blood samples submitted, more than 20 percent came back positive or bordering positive for liver fluke antibodies, said Sung-Tae Hong, the tropical medicine specialist who carried out the tests at Seoul National University in South Korea.
....
Endemic in the rivers of Vietnam, the worms can easily be wiped out with a handful of pills early on, but left untreated they can live for decades without making their hosts sick. Over time, swelling and inflammation of the bile duct can lead to cancer. Jaundice, itchy skin, weight loss and other symptoms appear only when the disease is in its final stages.

The VA study, along with a call by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York for broader research into liver flukes and cancer-stricken veterans, began after The Associated Press raised the issue in a story last year. The reporting found that about 700 veterans with cholangiocarcinoma have been seen by the VA in the past 15 years.
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Veteran Mike Baughman, 65, who was featured in the previous AP article, said his claim was granted early this year after being denied three times. He said the approval came right after his doctor wrote a letter saying his bile duct cancer was "more likely than not" caused by liver flukes from the uncooked fish he and his unit in Vietnam ate when they ran out of rations in the jungle. He now gets about $3,100 a month and says he's relieved to know his wife will continue to receive benefits after he dies. But he remains angry that other veterans' last days are consumed by fighting the same government they went to war for as young men.

Check with the VA.
All animals are created equal; Some just take longer to cook.   Survival is keeping an eye on those around you...

Solar

My brother just sent me this a second ago.
What's sad, is you can go to a local restaurant and mistakenly order a dish of uncooked fish if you don't understand the nuances of the language.

Edit: Now I'm wondering if I ate any during my tour in SK?
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Hoofer

Quote from: Solar on November 22, 2017, 05:42:37 PM
My brother just sent me this a second ago.
What's sad, is you can go to a local restaurant and mistakenly order a dish of uncooked fish if you don't understand the nuances of the language.

Edit: Now I'm wondering if I ate any during my tour in SK?

Former boss underwent a liver transplant, also a Vietnam vet...  wonder if there was a connection.

Then there's all that "pacific fish" of dubious origin sold in the super markets.
All animals are created equal; Some just take longer to cook.   Survival is keeping an eye on those around you...