March 2008

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2118988.0.exofficer_claims_raf_gave_him_war_disease.php

A former RAF officer has called for a Government investigation into
Gulf War Syndrome which he says has ruined his life - despite not
seeing action in the 1991 war.

David Bratley, of West Hanney, is convinced 17 injections he had over
17 days before he was due to be deployed is the cause of 19 years of
chronic health problems.

Mr Bratley, 60, said: "I'm calling for a proper inquiry into these
injections and a proper investigation by the British Government into
the disease.

"The injections made me ill and then it snowballed from there. And I
know there are other people in the same position as me.

"The Government has never offered me any treatment. They do not look
after people, they just use and abuse."

Thousands of war veterans say they are suffering Gulf War Syndrome,
which they say has left them a life-time of fatigue, rashes and
sleeping problems since they returned from combat. The Government is
adamant the injections did not cause a problem.

Mr Bratley, a self-employed photographer, was diagnosed with a series
of symptoms experienced by troops who served in the Middle East. But
he said: "I'm certain, absolutely certain it was the injections. I
haven't been right since. At the time they said I would feel ill over
the weekend.

"I think that was a bit of an understatement. It was too much for the
immune system to take.

All of them together and they just blew a fuse."

The father-of-three did not serve in the Gulf after military chiefs
decided not to deploy more troops. He was vaccinated against diseases
like tetanus, diphtheria, polio and meningitis. (And nearly all got at
least one anthrax inoculation--Nass)

Mr Bratley said he became ill immediately and his symptoms have
remained the same since. He added: "I can't lead a normal life and I
can't do a full time job. I'm tired all the time. I need to sleep a
lot, probably about 12 hours a day, but I don't wake up feeling
refreshed."

US research suggests health problems suffered by Gulf War veterans may
be due to pesticide exposure and nerve agents, and Mr Bratley did not
deny these could be factors.

Only three of his injections are recorded by the MoD, and Mr Bratley
is convinced the Government has something to hide.

MoD spokesman Paul Leat said "overwhelming evidence" from their
research showed the inoculations had no adverse health effects.

6:06pm Thursday 13th March 2008

By Emily Allen

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Meryl Nass, MD
Mount Desert Island Hospital
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609
207 288-5081 ext. 220
http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.com
http://www.anthraxvaccine.org