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Study debunks Gulf War bacteria theory

Antibiotic treatments did nothing, researchers say

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 Posted: 9:29 AM EDT (1329 GMT)

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A year on powerful antibiotics did nothing to relieve the chronic health problems reported by Gulf War veterans, demolishing the theory that so-called Gulf War syndrome is caused by a bacterial infection, researchers say.

The bacterial-infection theory "is off the table at this point," said Joseph F. Collins, a VA Maryland Healthcare System researcher and one of the study's authors. "It's disappointing, but the results are definitive: This is not the smoking gun."

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/07/20/sickvets.ap/index.html