‘Unlicensed drug used on Gulf vets’ claim
A former RAF worker claimed today that she has new evidence linking Gulf War Syndrome to vaccinations given to UK military personnel before serving in the Gulf War.
Telecommunications operator Anwen Humphreys, 39, who is originally from Dolgellau, north Wales, was given jabs in 1990 because she was due to go to the Gulf. But she stayed in the UK during the war for family reasons.
Now she claims on a Welsh language TV documentary Y Byd Ar Bedwar to be broadcast on S4C tonight that she is suffering from Gulf War Syndrome.
Ms Humprheys says she has suffered regular bouts of chronic illness, including headaches, vomiting, muscular pain, joint swelling, short term memory loss and depression.
Ms Humphreys says she is the first member of the UK armed forces who did not serve in the Gulf to be tested by American Dr Pam Asa, from Memphis, Tennessee.
Dr Asa reported finding traces of a substance called squalene in her blood.
The immunologist believes veterans in the US and the UK were given jabs which they should not have been given in a bid to combat the effects of Saddam Hussein’s chemical and biological weapons.
Dr Asa claims squalene was added to the anthrax vaccine to make it stronger.
She also alleges that squalene is not licensed for use on people because it is said to cause the immune system to become weak, allowing different diseases to develop.
Tests of more than 300 US ex-military personnel who served in the Gulf have shown that 95% have tested positive for squalene, Dr Asa said.
Speaking in the programme, Ms Humphreys said: ‘‘I was always one of these people who defended the Ministry of Defence and said there is no way they would experiment with our jabs and inject us with substances that were illegal.
‘‘But, it seems, I’ve been proved wrong. I believe the MoD has used us like guinea pigs in a test to see how effective squalene is.
‘‘There are no words to describe what they have done. It’s just medically, morally, and ethically wrong.
‘‘We need to know the truth now about what went on.’’
Tests on 20 ex-American servicemen and servicewomen who were given injections but did not go to the Gulf also tested positive for traces of squalene, the programme claimed.
Dr Asa is now calling for a full inquiry into Gulf War Syndrome on both sides of the Atlantic.
She tells the programme: ‘‘Anwen’s results, and those of others in America who didn’t go to the Gulf, show that this issue needs a thorough examination by the governments in the US and the UK.’’
But Minister for Veterans Dr Lewis Moonie MP said: ‘‘To the best of my knowledge, squalene was not used in vaccines given to members of the British forces at the time of the Gulf War.’’
