ILLNESSES HIT GULF WAR VETS' WIVES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 9, 1993                   TAG: 9303090021
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
ILLNESSES HIT GULF WAR VETS' WIVES
The wives of Gulf War veterans afflicted with puzzling, flu-like symptoms are experiencing a high rate of miscarriages and other illnesses, a family support group says.
Dorothy Brooks, head of the Military Families Support Network based in Buies Creek, N.C., on Monday said many children of sick veterans also are suffering from chronic health problems that antibiotics fail to relieve.
She said her group has compiled records of more than 1,000 Persian Gulf veterans who came back with mysterious ailments, and found that some 75 percent of their wives had health problems.
She said wives reported various gynecological problems in addition to miscarriages, and that several complained of body ache and fatigue symptoms similar to those experienced by their husbands.
The Department of Veterans Affairs last fall initiated legislation setting up a program to register and treat Persian War veterans with medical problems they believe may be linked to exposure to environmental hazards.
The VA said preliminary studies found the patterns of disease distribution were similar between 837 who saw action in the war and veterans from the same period who did not serve in the Gulf.
Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Hansen said Monday there were anecdotal reports of miscarriages during the baby boom that took place after the return of troops from the Gulf, but the percentage of miscarriages was not higher than is experienced in the general population.
Brooks said the wives might be picking up toxins from their husbands coming from such war-related contaminants as smoke, oil fumes and pesticides.
Other possible causes are a sexually transferable parasitic disease called leishmaniasis, which is transmitted by the bite of a sand flea, and depleted uranium used in munitions, she said.
Pentagon officials reported in House hearings last September that some 300 of the 540,000 troops who served in the Gulf have complained of such health problems as skin rashes, loss of hair, bleeding gums, elevated blood pressure and liver disorders.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB