Army Investigates Pneumonia Cases in Iraq

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 5, 2003) -- The Army has dispatched two teams of medical specialists to Iraq and Germany to investigate why pneumonia killed two Soldiers and put 13 other servicemembers in the hospital.

About 100 cases of pneumonia have occurred in Southwest Asia since March 1, said Col. Robert DeFraites, the chief of the Army's preventive medicine program, at a Pentagon press conference Aug. 5. That number, given the number of troops deployed there, is expected, he added.

Three Soldiers remain hospitalized and nine others have returned to duty, said Lyn Kukral, a spokesperson for the Army Surgeon General. The latest case of severe pneumonia occurred July 30. The two Soldiers died in June and July, respectively, after serving in Iraq in different units.

Annually, about nine in 10,000 Soldiers around the world have pneumonia that is serious enough to warrant hospitalization, said DeFraites.

A young, healthy person dying from pneumonia is rare but it does occur, said DeFraites. From 1998 through 2002, 17 Soldiers died from pneumonia or from complications of pneumonia. About 500 Soldiers are treated for the disease every year.

For more information, see Army investigates pneumonia cases in Iraq.