VA study shows parasite from Vietnam may be killing vets

[Swordsmyth]

A half a century after serving in Vietnam, hundreds of veterans have a new reason to believe they may be dying from a silent bullet — test results show some men may have been infected by a slow-killing parasite while fighting in the jungles of Southeast Asia.The 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.
"It was surprising," he said, stressing the preliminary results could include false positives and that the research is ongoing.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/va-study-...205234477.html

[Dr.3D]

Wow, that brings back memories of the lectures I heard in zoology class back in 1975. The professor was going on and on about something called Opisthorchis sinensis.

I wonder how he knew there would be a problem with those guys.

[XNavyNuke]

Yes. And the VA has been denying this for decades, letting veterans die, and ignoring their spouses. Every veteran going forward can thank a wife who didn't quit and move on when her husband succumbed. The political will to conduct the study was partly due to the political pressure that came when she finally won on appeal.

https://www.va.gov/vetapp15/Files4/1528691.txt

XNN

[phill4paul]

Yes. And the VA has been denying this for decades, letting veterans die, and ignoring their spouses. Every veteran going forward can thank a wife who didn't quit and move on when her husband succumbed. The political will to conduct the study was partly due to the political pressure that came when she finally won on appeal.

https://www.va.gov/vetapp15/Files4/1528691.txt

XNN

What do you think about these latest rumblings about merging the VA into Tri-Care? Opponents, mostly VA representatives, say it would put money into the private sector and would mean the ...gasp....end of the VA. I personally don't see it happening, but I see no downside to it.

[XNavyNuke]

What do you think about these latest rumblings about merging the VA into Tri-Care? Opponents, mostly VA representatives, say it would put money into the private sector and would mean the ...gasp....end of the VA. I personally don't see it happening, but I see no downside to it.

My personal opinion is it won't be happening anytime sooner. VA is a monsterous bureaucracy with a life of its own. Of course I'm a curmudgeon who preferred the pre-reform CHAMPUS system. But, Congress giveth and taketh in the interest of political power rather than common sense.

XNN

[phill4paul]

My personal opinion is it won't be happening anytime sooner. VA is a monsterous bureaucracy with a life of its own. Of course I'm a curmudgeon who preferred the pre-reform CHAMPUS system. But, Congress giveth and taketh in the interest of political power rather than common sense.

XNN

From my understanding it was just some ideas being batted around by the W.H., the VA got wind of it and were pissed because they weren't considered for input. We used to call that brainstorming, jack wagons.