Probe continues into mystery illness among British army medics

Investigations were continuing today to establish the cause of a mystery bug that has struck down 18 Army medical personnel serving with the British forces in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defence revealed yesterday that 18 staff at the 34 Field Hospital at the Bagram airbase had been taken ill with an unidentified ‘‘feverish’’ illness.

Two of the personnel were said to be ‘‘very seriously ill’’ - one has been flown back to Britain and the other is being taken to a US hospital in Germany.

The 34 Field Hospital has been closed as a precautionary measure except to further suspected cases of the illness.

The remaining staff at the hospital were also continuing to care for the 16 people struck down with the disease who have not been evacuated.

‘‘The exact nature of the illness is not yet known and medical tests continue to isolate the cause,’’ the MoD said.

‘‘However the illness appears to be contagious and as a precaution 34 Field Hospital has been closed to all but similar cases. It will be reopened for normal medical cover as soon as possible.’’

The British forces spokesman at Bagram, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Curry, acknowledged it was a ‘‘serious situation’’ but insisted the outbreak would not affect operational capability.

‘‘It is a setback but it will not affect our military planning for future operations,’’ he told the BBC1 Six O’Clock News programme.

He said the illness was ‘‘akin to gastroenteritis’’ and described how it had spread through the field hospital.

‘‘The first reported case was three days ago. Yesterday we had six, this morning we had 11, by this evening we had 18. Clearly it is a serious situation,’’ he said.

The Tories have called for a full inquiry into the outbreak.

‘‘It is important that the cause of the epidemic is found and isolated, and those affected looked after in the best possible facilities,’’ said shadow defence secretary Bernard Jenkin.

‘‘There are questions to ask and lessons to learn. Have there been any short cuts with hygiene and toilet facilities? Is Bagram using disposable cutlery and plates?’’

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Paul Keetch said the outbreak would do nothing to improve morale among the Royal Marines, already facing criticism that their operations have failed to find any al Qaida or Taliban fighters.

‘‘Disease has always stalked armies. It is no surprise to find it stalking our troops in the Afghan mountains,’’ he said.

‘‘We must be assured that this outbreak is simply the unavoidable consequence of war and not a result of the shortfall of trained medical staff.’’

Mr Keetch questioned whether the soldiers had been given the inoculations they required before travelling.

‘‘We must remember that many British soldiers deployed to Sierra Leone suffered from malaria having not received appropriate vaccinations. We must hope that a similar mistake has not been made again.

‘‘The Government must confirm that our armed forces went out to Afghanistan with the proper medical care, and having received all the required inoculations.’’