The Veteran’s Administration (VA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) just announced another study of Gulf War Illness (GWI) to assess why up to 250,000 soldiers were afflicted by a mysterious illness during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-1991.  Five other VA studies have been undertaken over the years resulting in no conclusions.

FQ experts and some victims have tried to draw attention to the fact that 1.2 million prescriptions for Cipro were distributed to military facilities for soldiers who were deployed to the Gulf War.  The purpose of administering this antibiotic was to “prevent being affected by an anthrax attack,” according to the VA, even though Cipro’s effectiveness against anthrax is unproven. (There has never been a large enough population of anthrax victims to conduct a proper clinical trial.) 

Symptoms suffered by one third of these soldiers are the same as those who have had reactions to Cipro -- fatigue, pain, harm to the central nervous system and muscles, gastrointestinal disorders, fibromyalgia and more.  Still, there was a perceived threat that Saddam Hussein might release a large supply of anthrax in a biological war.  Cipro was thought be an antidote. 

There have been no studies on the connection between GWI and Cipro, even though the adverse effects of both are so similar.  

Shouldn’t there have been an investigative study about Cipro’s possible connection to this unexplained wartime illness? Why has the VA not pursued this possibility?

A study and investigation are long overdue.