"Besides bacteria and viruses, he said, pneumonia also can be brought
on by fungus, parasites and noninfectious causes such as exposure to
metal dust."

Death of soldier from Missouri will be investigated amid spike in
pneumonia cases
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
updated: 07/28/2003 11:29 PM


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Epidemiologists are investigating two unusual
deaths from illness among troops in the Middle East to see whether
they are related to 10 cases of severe pneumonia, The Springfield
News Leader reported.

A Missourian, Spc. Joshua Neusche, 20, of Montreal, Mo., died of an
illness July 12. His parents said the disease caused various organs
to break down.

Two researchers have already been sent to the Landstuhl Regional
Medical Center in Germany, where Neusche was treated before his
death.

The U.S. Army surgeon general's office told The News Leader an
additional team of six researchers is preparing to fly to Iraq to
investigate.

The cases under investigation have occurred since March 1. Another
soldier whose name wasn't released died about a month before Neusche,
on June 17.

Col. Robert DeFraites, the surgeon general's senior preventative-
medicine physician, said officials have not yet been able to identify
a specific bacterium or virus that could have caused such severe
cases of pneumonia.

"It's not entirely unheard of for this to happen," said DeFraites. He
said that in the past five years, 17 soldiers have died of acute
respiratory distress syndrome.

However, he said it is uncommon for pneumonia to cause a breakdown in
organs other than the lungs.

Neusche's parents said that's what happened to their son. Mark and
Cynthia Neusche said they were told their son's kidneys, liver and
muscles began to deteriorate after he contracted the illness.

"The doctor said (Josh) got into some type of toxin that began
degenerating his muscles," Mark Neusche said Friday.

The investigation comes at a time of overall concern about pneumonia.
DeFraites said there has been a noticeable increase in pneumonia
cases among soldiers since the war in Iraq began. He didn't release
specific numbers but said the incidence of pneumonia is exceeding
military expectations of 10 to 20 cases among deployed soldiers each
month. Most of the patients have served in Kuwait and Iraq.

Besides bacteria and viruses, he said, pneumonia also can be brought
on by fungus, parasites and noninfectious causes such as exposure to
metal dust.

DeFraites said preliminary tests show the illness is not passed from
person to person and is not related to severe acute respiratory
syndrome, or SARS.

During the investigation, the teams of epidemiologists will study
everything from the soldiers' medical records and tissue samples to
soil, water and air samples.

DeFraites said infectious agents such as anthrax and smallpox also
will be investigated.

"Nothing's going to be ruled out," DeFraites said. "When you go into
one of these things, you keep an open mind. ... There's enough
concern about these two fatal cases (occurring) in such a short
period of time" to warrant the investigation.

Montreal, Mo., is just south of Camdenton, near the Lake of the
Ozarks.