[Health&Healing] The Curse of Britains Gulf War Babies- Anthrax Jabs

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SCANDAL OF THE ANTHRAX BABIES--The Curse of Britains Gulf War Babies

 

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/content_objectid=14000046_method=f

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SCANDAL OF THE ANTHRAX BABIES

Feb 29 2004

 

 

Five soldiers lose their babies... They all had the anthrax jab

 

By Mike Hamilton

 

THE curse of Britain's Gulf War babies is revealed today by the

Sunday Mirror.

 

Deaths, still-births, miscarriages, physical defects and sickness

are all being blamed on anthrax jabs given to soldiers who went to

Iraq.

 

In the case of 33 Field Hospital - an Army unit of 105 men and women

who served in the Gulf last year - not one pregnancy has been

trouble-free since the war. Among the victims were Lance-Corporal

Andy Saupe and wife Alex, who lost baby Kye at just five weeks old.

 

_________________

 

FIVE minutes was all they had. Five precious minutes to say goodbye.

Five minutes to cradle baby Kye in their arms before he died.

 

Lance-Corporal Andy Saupe was among 105 men and women serving with

33 Field Hospital who were given anthrax vaccinations before being

called up for Gulf War 2.

 

Three months after returning home from Iraq he and wife Alex lost

their five-week-old baby, born 10 weeks premature with growth

problems and limb defects.

 

But they are not alone. The Sunday Mirror can reveal that since the

war was declared over last May at least seven young couples linked

to 33 Field Hospital have suffered pregnancy complications - most

with tragic circumstances.

 

In fact not one pregnancy has been trouble-free.

 

As well as the death of Kye there has been one still-birth, two

miscarriages, a forced termination and two premature births.

 

In every case one of the parents was given anthrax jabs.

 

The figures are shocking, especially when compared to the national

average.

 

Among the general population, around one in 20 babies are still-

born. One in 85 babies is born with some sort of physical defect.

One in 10 babies is premature. Miscarriages hit one in four

pregnancies.

 

Last night Kye's distraught mother Alex said: " We want answers.

 

" There have been too many problems in this unit for it to be a

tragic coincidence. "

 

33 Field Hospital was deployed to the Gulf at the beginning of last

year and stationed on the Iraq-Kuwait border.

 

The unit - comprising medics, chefs, Royal Engineers, drivers,

clerks and quartermasters - then moved up to Basra in southern Iraq.

 

Army sources say that in Gulf War 1 women soldiers were warned not

to conceive within 12 months of various vaccinations being

administered.

 

But members of 33 Field Hospital, based in Gosport, Hants - and

other troops who served in the Gulf - say no warnings were given

about anthrax jabs.

 

Experts now fear thousands of British troops who had the

vaccinations face problems with having children.

 

The victims of 33 Field Hospital include:

 

-LANCE-CORPORAL Andy Saupe, 23, and wife Alex, 25, whose son Kye

died after five weeks fighting for life.

 

-LANCE-CORPORAL Johann Haggerty, 28, and wife, Zoe, 23, whose son

Joshua was still-born after a healthy pregnancy.

 

-PRIVATE Justin Bowen, 27, and his 20-year-old wife Vicky, and Army

Nurse, whose son Scott was born premature and is still fighting for

life.

 

-A ROYAL Engineer whose wife had to have a forced termination at

five months because the baby was not developing properly.

 

-A WOMAN Fusilier who had a miscarriage.

 

-AN NCO whose wife, in her mid-30s, suffered a miscarriage.

 

-ARMY Medic Kirsty Wilson, 21, whose pregnancy was plagued by

illness. Her son, Ryan, born eight days early, now suffers serious

skin problems.

 

Last night the MoD was facing demands to stop anthrax vaccinations

immediately and there were calls for the Government to hold a full

public inquiry.

 

Professor Malcolm Hooper, a member of the MoD's independent vaccines

panel, said: " This situation looks like a cluster and I am sure it

is linked to the Anthrax vaccine.

 

" The numbers are relatively small and the Army will try to dilute

them out with everyone else. But this is hugely significant and

should not be ignored.

 

" Somebody should go down to Gosport and look at this problem

carefully, not belittle people and brush this under the carpet. "

 

Paul Tyler - a Liberal Democrat MP and member of the Royal British

Legion Gulf War Group - said: " This sounds like conclusive evidence

that the cocktail of vaccinations given to troops was totally unsafe.

 

" I'm afraid this is too much to be a coincidence. There should now

be a full public inquiry - out in the open - into the inoculations

given to troops.

 

" But instead there has been a constant state of denial from MOD

officials and ministers over what amounts to a dereliction of duty

and care to people serving their country. "

 

Shaun Rusling, President of the National Gulf Veterans and Families'

Association, praised the Sunday Mirror's investigation.

 

" It is extremely worrying that you have discovered these seven cases

in one small unit, " he said.

 

" Veterans across Britain are having problems but may not realise

there is a wide scale problem until they read something like this.

 

" It is disgraceful that the Government will not hold a public

inquiry into the erroneous vaccinations regime that is causing

deaths and deformities in the children of war veterans. "

 

Last night an MoD spokeswoman said: " Congenital disabilities are

unfortunately common, affecting about one in 33 live births.

 

" In about two-thirds of these cases, no cause is found.

 

" The anthrax vaccine has been used for many years by both military

and civilian professions, and no serious side-effects have been

reported.

 

" People that are pregnant are advised to see a doctor on a one-to-

one basis regarding vaccinations

 

" No advice was issued to military personnel with regard to

conception in either conflict because no adverse reactions have been

reported. "

 

-The NGVFA's helpline number is 01482 833812.

 

_________________

 

OUR WORST NIGHTMARE

BABY KYE: DIED, 5 WEEKS

 

LANCE-CORPORAL Andy Saupe had two anthrax injections 10 days apart

in December 2002 after his unit was called up for The Gulf.

 

Weeks later his partner Alex became pregnant and the couple married

a week before Andy was sent to the Gulf on February 16 last year.

 

While Andy, a chef, was in the Gulf, an initial scan showed Alex and

baby were well. But when Alex went back a few weeks later doctors

noticed serious problems. The baby was showing a lack of movement.

His limbs were also not forming properly. As concerns about her

pregnancy grew, Alex went into St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth for

more tests and was also sent to see geneticists at Southampton

General Hospital. Alex said: " Doctors were baffled by the whole

thing and could not tell me what was causing the problems. " On July

24 last year Alex and Andy were in bed at their Army home in

Gosport, Hants, when she went into labour 10 weeks early. She

said: " I was having really bad stomach pains. Eventually I got up

and phoned the hospital and they said to come in. Andy borrowed a

friend's car and we started heading to the hospital in Portsmouth. "

 

On their way there Alex went into labour. " We pulled over and I got

into the back seat, " said Alex. " I gave birth and Andy had to

deliver Kye. He did a great job although he has only got basic Army

first-aid training. The ambulance got there soon afterwards and they

had to perform CPR (heart resuscitation) on Kye. They rushed him

straight to hospital and then I had to wait for another ambulance to

come and get me. "

 

Kye, who weighed just 2lbs 10oz, was taken into intensive care. His

facial features were not formed properly and his limbs were " fixed " .

He had 10 times the normal level of fluid around his heart and dark

patches on the brain. For five weeks Kye fought for his tiny life,

but eventually doctors told devastated Andy and Alex to prepare for

the worst. The couple then took the heart-breaking decision to turn

off his life-support equipment. " Eventually they told us to say our

goodbyes, " said Alex. " I spoke to Kye and said, 'If you are going to

go, you can go now'. "

 

Before Kye died Alex and Andy held him for five minutes to say

goodbye. Alex said: " It was heartbreaking - every parents' worst

nightmare. "

 

Alex initially thought they had suffered an unexplained tragedy like

those that hit many couples. But then she began hearing about others

in Andy's unit who had suffered miscarriages, had premature births

or had babies born desperately ill.

 

Alex asked doctors if the problems could be linked to the jabs Andy

was given. She was told it could be possible - that preservatives

used to store the anthrax could be to blame.

 

_________________

 

THE VICTIMS

 

LANCE-CORPORAL Andy Saupe, 23, and wife Alex, 25, whose son Kye died

after five weeks fighting for life.

 

LANCE-CORPORAL Johann Haggerty, 28, and wife, Zoe, 23, whose son

Joshua was still-born after a healthy pregnancy.

 

A ROYAL Engineer whose wife had to have a forced termination at five

months because the baby was not developing properly.

 

A WOMAN Fusilier who had a miscarriage.

 

AN NCO whose wife, in her mid-30s, suffered a miscarriage.

 

PRIVATE Justin Bowen, 27, and Army Nurse wife Vicky, 20, whose son

Scott was born premature and fighting for life.

 

ARMY Medic Kirsty Wilson, 21, whose pregnancy was plagued by

illness. Her son, Ryan, now suffers serious skin problems.

 

___________________

 

A DEADLY CHEMICAL WEAPON

 

ANTHRAX is a deadly spore-forming bacteria which multiplies if it

gets into the body.

 

Humans inhale the spores or can be infected through breaks in the

skin. Spores then produce a toxin that is released into the

bloodstream. The toxin starves tissues of oxygen, eventually

inducing respiratory and heart failure.

 

Allied Forces feared Saddam Hussein had a stock of anthrax which he

was prepared to use against troops. The controversial vaccine given

the soldiers involved using dead anthrax bacteria to produce an

immune response to the disease. The vaccine cannot be given to

pregnant women, under-18s or over-65s because their immune systems

are weaker than others. Short-term side-effects include swelling,

muscle-aches, fever and nausea. One in 50,000 end up in hospital

after suffering severe reactions.

 

Campaigners claim the vaccination is among causes of Gulf War

Syndrome. And research in America shows children of Gulf veterans

exposed to vaccines, including anthrax, are more prone to birth

abnormalities. Last month we told how a three week-old baby had

become Britain's youngest Gulf War Syndrome. The American study also

found veterans and their partners ran twice the risk of

miscarriages.-DO you know a Gulf War Syndrome scandal we should

investigate? Then call us FREE on 0800 289 441