VA Centers Designated to Treat Gulf War Ills

The Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday designated three of its medical centers as referral facilities for Persian Gulf War veterans suffering from mysterious ailments.

Some soldiers returning from the Middle East have complained of maladies including fatigue, depression, hair loss, aching joints, rashes and sore and bleeding gums. The symptoms are believed to be related to environmental contaminants, including fumes from oil fields set on fire by fleeing Iraqi troops.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward J. Derwinski said VA hospitals in West Los Angeles, Houston and the District of Columbia will have special environmental medical centers for veterans whose evaluation at a local VA medical center has eluded diagnosis.

“We are prepared to assist any (Gulf War) veteran who may be experiencing health problems right now,” Derwinski said in a telephone interview from Houston. “We want to be ahead and on top of this, rather than behind . . . although we have not seen any unusual patterns yet.”

VA spokesman Terry Jemison said there have been a “few cases scattered across the VA.”

Derwinski sought legislative authority last month to give Gulf War veterans special access to VA hospitals for thorough physical examinations and the entry of health-related data into a computerized tracking registry. Congress has not acted on that proposal.

The three hospitals were selected based on the availability of medical specialists and academic experts on infectious diseases and lung, skin and nerve problems. The focus will be on groups of symptoms that may be responses to smoke, contaminated food or drink, burning oil wells and other environmental conditions faced by the troops, Derwinski said.