An unusual case of anaemia and lymphadenopathy in a soldier on deployment

M K O'Shea1, R Gregg, J Naylor

  • 1ST5 Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Heartlands Hospital and Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK.

We describe the case of a British soldier, originally from southeast Africa, who presented to the British military hospital in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, with a history of constitutional upset, profound anaemia and diffuse lymphadenopathy with hepatosplenomegaly. Following evacuation to the UK investigations revealed a rare (and a not so rare) diagnosis. This case raises a number of questions regarding the population at risk, the prevalence of endemic diseases in this population and laboratory capabilities in the deployed setting.

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