Mystery Illness Killing Vietnam Vets

By Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D. Posted December 9, 2017

I have a soft spot in my heart for military veterans—especially the ones who have seen active combat.

And that’s why the news of a mysterious illness killing Vietnam vets makes me especially angry.

It turns out that the soldiers who fought in Vietnam could have brought something home with them that laid dormant for decades

It’s what I call the Vietnamese Trojan Horse, and it’s killing these veterans on their own home soil.

Here’s how to stay safe.

Vets who served in Vietnam have an uncommonly high likelihood of having a parasite that hitched a ride home with them.

It’s called a liver fluke, and it can be contracted when eating raw or undercooked fish or from ingesting river water. While it’s practically unheard of here in the States, it’s extremely common in Asia, affecting about 25 million people.

Liver flukes can live undetected in your body for years—decades, even. And sometimes, people can live and die without ever knowing they had them.

These parasites cause tissue damage that leads to scarring and inflammation—and in some cases, that can contribute to a rare form of bile duct cancer called cholangiocarcinoma.

This type of cancer typically goes undetected until it’s too advanced to do anything about it—making it extremely lethal.

In the past few years, some scientists and veterans and have been connecting the dots between these liver flukes and bile duct cancer.

They’ve been trying to sound the alarm, but it’s been falling on mostly deaf ears… until now.

The Department of Veterans Affairs decided to conduct a study to see if Vietnam vets were more likely to carry these liver flukes.

They drew blood samples from 50 veterans—and a shocking 20 PERCENT came back positive for liver fluke antibodies.
In other words, thousands of vets could have a cancer-causing infection…and not have a clue.

And that means that if a veteran develops this form of cancer, he either doesn’t know that it could have been from Vietnam (so he doesn’t even file for service-related benefits)—or he is denied coverage if he does ask.

This pilot study is the government’s first real step in acknowledging the connection, but in the meantime, too few vets—and their families—are getting the benefits they deserve.

But there is a silver lining in all of this.

Knowledge.

Every Vietnam vet should be tested for the parasites. If they’re infected, they can be treated with a medication that kills the flukes and their eggs.

They should also be tested for lesions that can lead to the cancer. In many cases, precancerous lesions can be removed before they develop into full-blown cancer.

The reason the cancer is so fatal is because it’s usually not caught until its final stages. Catching it early gives a man a fighting chance.

That’s the least we can do for these heroes who have already sacrificed so much.

Written By Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.

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