The Army is racing to identify the source of a salmonella outbreak that has left five soldiers sickened at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, Army Times reports, another reminder that much of the Global War on Terror is duked out in downrange service members’ guts.
- Of the “handful” of personnel at Arifhan who came down with bowel-wrenching symptoms, only five tested positive for the illness, Army Central Command spokeswoman Col. Angela Funaro told Army Times, adding that all medical and dining facilities are under inspection “as a proactive safety measure.”
- Rumors are aflutter. “I am told that the number of ‘unconfirmed cases’ printed in the morning report at the installation were significantly higher… possibly as many as 40,” one soldier’s family member told Army Times. “It seems that [MEDCOM] stopped testing for salmonella and just treated symptoms to keep the reporting numbers low.”
- The alert comes less than two months after an outbreak of norovirus at Arifjan and Camp Buehring sickened at least 77 personnel and saw soldiers pulled off flights back to the United States, out of concerns that they could spread the infection.
- Soldiers on Arifjan with Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 28th Infantry Division received a mid-deployment update last month reminding them that soldiers stationed at Arifjan “can choose healthy foods in the dining facilities.”
At least it isn’t Camp Buehring!
WATCH NEXT: