The Defence Forces have confirmed that a soldier who became ill while serving with the UN in Lebanon is critical in Waterford Regional Hospital with suspected diphtheria. However, tests on other Army personnel, who were in close contact with him, proved to be negative, it has been confirmed.
The soldier, who is from Kilkenny and was serving with the 83rd Infantry Battalion, is in intensive care although it has not yet been possible to confirm the diagnosis, according to an Army spokesman. The outcome of tests were awaited while the Army was being briefed on his condition.
The man, said to be in his 30s, was treated for a sore throat in Lebanon and reported ill again when he came home on holiday and was admitted to St Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny. When his condition deteriorated due to renal failure, he was transferred to Waterford.
Standard procedure was adopted by the Army's medical personnel in response to suspected diphtheria, a bacterial disease causing sore throat and fever which can lead to fatal complications. But throat swab tests on others were all negative, the spokesman said. "Hopefully, this is an isolated case, but you can never tell," he added.
In the circumstances, it was felt that no extra precautions were necessary. All 620 Army personnel serving in Lebanon had been immunised as recommended for people going to that part of the world, he said. This includes vaccination for typhoid, cholera and tetanus. Most Irish people are vaccinated against diphtheria in the form of the "three-in-one" administered when they are young.
