Afghan bug is brought to UK

The mystery illness that has hit British forces in Afghanistan has struck its first victim in Britain.

A medic treating the sick troops flew back home and spent three days unaware that he had contracted the potentially fatal disease, meaning he could have spread it to others.

Only now has he been diagnosed as suffering from the illness and put under quarantine. Experts believe the disease, which is still unidentified, is spread through the air and fear an outbreak here.

The news came as it emerged that 18 British military personnel in Afghanistan had contracted the disease, and that two are very seriously ill. Seven soldiers have been airlifted to Britain for treatment and one to a US base in Germany.

The bug is capable of spreading without direct contact with those affected and causes fever, vomiting and severe stomach cramps.

Military experts have insisted there are no reasons to suspect biological weapons.

The unnamed medic flew back to RAF Brize Norton after treating troops in Kabul. Because he was not considered at risk he was not isolated or put in quarantine while he travelled home. During his journey he could have spread the disease to dozens of soldiers and civilians he encountered.

The medic, an anaesthetist, was flown out to Afghanistan this week to take home one of eight medical evacuees hit by the first outbreak. Three days after returning he developed the symptoms.

The case has confirmed the worst fears of British commanders, which is that the disease is airborne, rather than caught from local food, and has caused concerns about infection because of the cramped conditions of the 9,000 troops based here in Afghanistan.

At Bagram, a further 20 cases have joined the six remaining patients still affected, and the bug has spread beyond the 34 Field Hospital unit, where the original cases were found.

The new outbreak dashes hopes that the disease has been contained by the quarantine of the field hospital unit.

Despite the area being quarantined, the bug has spread among other British troops among the 1,700-strong 45 Royal Marines Commando task force.

British Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ben Curry refused to say which British units were involved but said three soldiers were in isolation and 17 more had symptoms.

But he said the new cases all came from two camps, Camp Gibraltar, home to the main marines force, and Camp Hacienda, home to special forces units.

Despite evidence that the bug is airborne, the base commander has not ordered the isolation of units affected and there is no general quarantine.

Colonel Curry said terrorism had been ruled out: "There's absolutely no reason to suggest there's a bio-terrorist threat."

Britain is now flying two experts in communicable diseases out to Afghanistan.

In the UK, teams of scientists are working to try to isolate the mystery illness, known as Enteric Febrile illness, or Stomach Fever

Dr Paul Clarke, a former military medical consultant and an infectious diseases expert, said: "This is most likely to be a severe viral infection.

"This kind of thing is common in countries where there are poor sewage systems and other public health facilities, particularly, somewhere like Afghanistan where war has really hit all those services."