Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Sand Fly Trouble in Iraq

Aired February 16, 2004 - 06:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The dangers in Iraq are real. We already know about the obvious ones.
Now our Christy Feig has a report on a smaller but annoying problem for troops in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Specialist William Verdell first realized he'd been bitten by sand flies in Iraq after the sandstorms in early October.

SPEC. WILLIAM VERDELL, U.S. ARMY: The bites were growing. And then about the end of October, that's when we started getting concerned, because they were getting worse and not better.

FEIG: By the time he was brought back to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for treatment, he had 27 lesions. Now, he and about 400 other soldiers from Iraq have been diagnosed with leishmaniasis, a skin disease caused by a parasite, transmitted by sand flies. It's rare in the United States.

DR. DALLAS HACK, WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER: We think that number will go a fair amount higher than that. We're estimating in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 altogether.

FEIG: First Lieutenant Chris Peterson tried to prevent the bites.

LT. CHRIS PETERSON, U.S. ARMY: We've got the Army DEET that they issue us. I used that daily. And, of course, I brought my own. I got the Off spray. I used that. And I also sleep under a mosquito net.

FEIG: In regions like Iraq and Afghanistan, where the disease is more common, they can't afford the treatment available to these troops. Instead, they inject medicine directly into the source.

At Walter Reed, the soldiers receive medicine by IV for 20 days.

HACK: We're using the intravenous form, which is more effective, less painful, and will treat and give us virtually 100 percent -- 99 to 100 percent cure rate.

FEIG: And they're also researching a new treatment. It heats the skin to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 seconds. One treatment kills the parasite. Christy Feig, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired February 16, 2004 - 06:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The dangers in Iraq are real. We already know about the obvious ones.
Now our Christy Feig has a report on a smaller but annoying problem for troops in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Specialist William Verdell first realized he'd been bitten by sand flies in Iraq after the sandstorms in early October.

SPEC. WILLIAM VERDELL, U.S. ARMY: The bites were growing. And then about the end of October, that's when we started getting concerned, because they were getting worse and not better.

FEIG: By the time he was brought back to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for treatment, he had 27 lesions. Now, he and about 400 other soldiers from Iraq have been diagnosed with leishmaniasis, a skin disease caused by a parasite, transmitted by sand flies. It's rare in the United States.

DR. DALLAS HACK, WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER: We think that number will go a fair amount higher than that. We're estimating in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 altogether.

FEIG: First Lieutenant Chris Peterson tried to prevent the bites.

LT. CHRIS PETERSON, U.S. ARMY: We've got the Army DEET that they issue us. I used that daily. And, of course, I brought my own. I got the Off spray. I used that. And I also sleep under a mosquito net.

FEIG: In regions like Iraq and Afghanistan, where the disease is more common, they can't afford the treatment available to these troops. Instead, they inject medicine directly into the source.

At Walter Reed, the soldiers receive medicine by IV for 20 days.

HACK: We're using the intravenous form, which is more effective, less painful, and will treat and give us virtually 100 percent -- 99 to 100 percent cure rate.

FEIG: And they're also researching a new treatment. It heats the skin to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 seconds. One treatment kills the parasite. Christy Feig, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.