Hep C caused by military air-injected immunizations

[bronzestar]

I want to know if anyone knows of persons that may have had air-injected immunizations while i the military (vietnam era)? They line up one by one and get hit with the same air-injected gun, everyone had blood running down their arm. I firmly believe that's where I first came in contact with the virus but it could be a number of other things too.

[ClippedWings]

It can be very tough to show the required nexus to establish service connection for you Vietnam Vets.  I retired from the Navy in 2003 and was diagnosed with HCV in 2007.  By that time I was already suffering symptoms of cirrhosis.  My Hepatologist wrote a letter to the VA saying that I could not possibly have contracted the disease and deteriorated that much in the 4 years since my retirement.  Because my record did not show any liver problems or hepatitis when I originally entered the service, I was granted service connection.  Oddly enough, in over 20 years of active duty service I never had a hepatitis test or a liver panel.  If you have any questions, send me a message.  My experience with the VA was that I was always able to achieve what I thought was a fair rating.  In my experience, the raters always want to award the sought after disability, but their rules (some of which are severely outdated) often restrict them if the proper service connection criteria cannot be met.  This gets very difficult if several decades have passed since the time on active duty. Send me a message if you want to discuss further.  Good Luck.

[Teufelhunden]

The VA requires a clear etiology for the source of any claim.  If it's not in your health record, proving it can be a dauntless task. With that said, it's not impossible to convince to the VA that the jet guns were the reason.  There have been cases won in favor of claimants.  I submitted 84 pages of jet gun documents to the VA in support of my claim. On top of that, 16 more pages of an immune gamma globulin inoculation that I received in 1995 while on active duty ( annotated in my health record was the lot number, pharmaceutical company name and the date ).  While the IGG proved to be the smoking gun ( lot number was recalled by the pharmaceutical company for HCV contamination as was almost 300 other lot numbers), when my disability was awarded, they made no mention of either the jet gun or the inoculation but they did award me disability for HCV, for my thyroid being destroyed during my 48 week treatment, and the after effects of Interferon/Ribavirin.  In all, I ended up with a 100% disabled rating.   By the way, the IGG was standard fare for military personnel deploying to areas that may had been at risk for exotic diseases.  The DOD stopped using the IGG in 1995 because of the problems associated with the IGG.  Each lot contained around 17,000 vials, so for those vets that are looking for a connection, don't rule out the immune gamma globulins.  

[charox]

I looked into this a while back. I believe the answer was that some contagious illnesses were also transferred from patient to patient when those mass inoculations with the air injections were done.

[jljaries42]

Hi

Has anyone experienced pain in the injection site for years later?

I was injected in '81. In 83-84 I started noticing a sensitive spot on my arm ,in that area, when touched or hit with a heavy stream in the shower.
A few years ago, I started getting brief, spontaneous and sharp pains from that same spot.
I don't think I have Hep, but I have CFS and other symptoms which have yet to be diagnosed.
Thanks

[tashka]

My husband had this injection, but didn't experience long-term pain at the injection site. You should get tested for hepatitis C to be sure. This disease ofter causes no symptoms at all until the liver is seriously damaged.

[slpjr]

I entered  air force basic  in 12/77. I had the same air gun experience. I found out only 10 years ago that I had it for sure.  I had blood donation privileges cancelled by the red cross without specified reasons. They only recommended that I follow up with my doctor. I felt fine so I did not. I am yet well due to not being a drinker, smoker, or using recreational drugs. I am trying to get it service connected. Any suggestions?