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Saturday, September 15, 2007

Icky “Baghdad boil” skin sore showing up locally, including North Richland Hills

By Pegasus News wire

Updated 07:00 p.m., September 15, 2007

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Oh goody, a new plague: leishmaniasis, a.k.a. "Baghdad boil," so called because it sometimes shows up on soldiers in Iraq.

Actually, it's not fatal and you can even let it heal itself, although it takes months to go away and for that reason some people go get treatment or else have it cut out.

It turned up locally a few years ago, but always among people who'd gotten it while traveling. But now it appears to have made its way here.

You can't catch it from another person; it's spread by sand flies, who are infected after biting burrowing wood rats. So if you're around sand flies and wood rats a lot, you need to watch out.

CBS 11: Baghdad Boils

Posted by T.G.

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Comments

bugslife Anonymous

While the New World Cutaneous Leishmaniasis species such as Mexicana normally do not visceralize and attack the bones and organs, it is still a blood borne parasite.
This parasite can take up to twenty years to present symptoms in an otherwise healthy person. The parasite has been proven to live in stored blood for thirty days. There is a ban on blood donations from persons traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan because of this. Leishmaniasis can be transmitted sexually, congenitally, and by blood transfusion or the sharing of needles. There is NO sterile cure and treatment can be very toxic. This parasite should be taken very seriously. http://www.iraqinfections.org

10 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

DC

DC Anonymous

It's rather unlikely to be a major health problem

http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/DPD/parasit...

considering how difficult it is to spread, etc. Maybe actual public health concerns like mental health services in Dallas county, smoking or hepatitis would be a little more worth worrying about around here.

I should be careful linking to major research organizations for the fear of ending up on the disregarded dead horse pile, I suppose.

10 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

ch0

ch0 Anonymous

Sand flies and wood rats? Time to whip out the rock frogs and iron kitties!

10 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

JW Richard

JW Richard Verified

oh, brother....

10 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

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