South Korean soldier may have contracted bird flu

[unhappycamper]

South Korean soldier may have contracted bird flu
By Ashley Rowland and Hwang Hae-rym, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, April 24, 2008

SEOUL — A 22-year-old South Korean soldier who helped kill chickens infected with avian flu remained in stable condition Tuesday afternoon, two days after he reported having possible symptoms of the deadly virus.

The Special Forces corporal, identified only by his last name, Cho, is being quarantined and treated with antibiotics in a South Korean military hospital in Bundang, a suburb of Seoul, according to a spokesman for South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense.

If testing shows he has the disease, he will be the first in South Korea.

“It’s a big deal,” said Lt. Col. Eric Lund, a preventive medicine consultant for 18th Medical Command. “All of Korea is waiting to see, did this happen or not.”

Officials won’t know for one to three weeks if Cho has bird flu because his symptoms could be caused by bacterial pneumonia, according to a statement from the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54267