THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010681
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
For some Persian Gulf War veterans who have fought a baffling set of chronic ailments over the past three years, the battleground has shifted to a different front - their sexual functioning.
Early accounts of skin rashes, headaches and fatigue have been augmented by reports of a ``shooting fire'' pain during intercourse for Gulf veterans and their partners, members of the Persian Gulf Expert Scientific Committee reported Tuesday.
Officials admit they're no closer to understanding the so-called Gulf War Syndrome, a cluster of symptoms plaguing men and women who participated in Operation Desert Storm in early 1991.
The expert scientific committee was formed by the Department of Veterans Affairs in late 1993 after a surge of medical complaints from the Gulf War veterans.
Tuesday's meeting focused largely on reproductive issues, particularly the ``burning semen'' phenomenon surfacing in the last year at some Veterans Health Administration hospitals across the country. Male veterans have complained of a searing pain comparable to shooting fire at the point of orgasm.
Also, their partners said they felt a burning sensation when semen touched their skin and reported rashes, swelling and blistering that lasted for days after intercourse.
Though there's no accurate tally of these cases, the committee said about a dozen have been documented officially.
One serviceman who was among the 700,000 men and women who served in the Persian Gulf offered emotional testimony.
``To me, it is medically obvious to connect my illness, my wife's illness and my daughter's illness to my presence in the Gulf War,'' said Staff Sgt. Kenneth MacCartney, 26, an Army recruiter from Indianapolis. During his nearly seven months in Saudi Arabia, MacCartney said he was continually exposed to insecticides, pesticides, leaded diesel fuel and oil-fire fumes.
He was in excellent health before the war, MacCartney said, but he's now virtually incapacitated by severe fatigue, joint pain, nausea and chest pain.
His year-old daughter, Kristen, suffers from constant respiratory illnesses, which doctors dismiss as ``childhood colds.''
His wife, Sherry, suffers from headaches and fatigue, and both husband and wife experience the burning semen symptoms.
The committee is urging the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to locate veterans and perform immediate clinical studies. MEMO: WHERE TO CALL
For details, call the Veterans Affairs Department's hot line at
1-800-749-8387.
KEYWORDS: PERSIAN GULF WAR by CNB