Think Progress

Malarial disease in Iraq dubbed ‘Blackwater Fever.’

By Ben Armbruster on Mar 26th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

Malarial disease in Iraq dubbed ‘Blackwater Fever.’

Iraqi doctors in al-Anbar province are warning of a new disease they are calling “Blackwater Fever” named after Blackwater Worldwide, the American private security contractor in Iraq. The disease, “which is considered the worst type of malarial infection” has “nothing to do with Blackwater Worldwide” but “Iraqis in al-Anbar province have decided to make the connection between the disease and the lethal U.S.-based company which has been responsible for the death of countless Iraqis.“

UpdateInstapundit writes that the Blackwater malaria is "just a kind of malaria that's gone by that name since the 19th Century."

UpdateIPS has since corrected its original story, noting that "Blackwater fever is a well-known medical condition" and that "Iraqis in al-Anbar province have decided to make the connection between the disease" and Blackwater Worldwide.

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26 Responses to “Malarial disease in Iraq dubbed ‘Blackwater Fever.’”

MCMetal Says:

Winning over the hearts and minds of Iraqis on a daily basis , aren't they ?
March 26th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
galmud Says:

Fitting :)

Reminds me of that old strategy-game Civilization. At the end of the game you got a rating on how well you did, and how you would be remembered in history. I think the lowest was having a disease named after you
March 26th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
galmud Says:

suddenly "contracting a disease" got a new meaning..
March 26th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Mr. Evil Says:

Blackwater Fever. Sounds appropriate.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Gary Herstein Says:

By the bye, "blackwater fever" IS the name for a presentation of malaria:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_fever
March 26th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
shoeless Says:

I thought Blackwater Fever was an illness suffered by US soldiers after drinking water supplied by Halliburton.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
shoeless Says:

galmud Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Fitting :)

Reminds me of that old strategy-game Civilization. At the end of the game you got a rating on how well you did, and how you would be remembered in history. I think the lowest was having a disease named after you.

So, one day, all forms of mental illness will just be referred to as Bush Syndrome.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Vet Says:

The repukes will spin it this way: Blackwater Fever is a good thing - much like Disco Fever...

"Hey, look at that happy guy dancing in the street because he was liberated and is being kept safe by the good people of Blackwater Worldwide ... He must have Blackwater Fever!".

- or -

Blackwater Fever: Catch It!
March 26th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Trevor Wynne Says:

The new book, A Time Like This, warns of some very serious consequences that could arise in the Middle East.
-Trevor Wynne
March 26th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
hussein toasterhead Says:

The disease is most prevalent in Africa and Asia. The patient suffers severe intravascular haemolysis -- the destruction of red blood cells leading to kidney and liver failure. It also leads to black or red urination, and hence perhaps the new name 'Blackwater'.

Lovely!

We're winning hearts and minds alright. Livers and kidneys not so much.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
misshusseinmolly Says:

Sometimes the punchlines just write themselves...
March 26th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
misshusseinmolly Says:

Gary Herstein Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
By the bye, “blackwater fever” IS the name for a presentation of malaria:
________________________________________

Good catch. This means that the malaria has been around longer than the mercenary or "security" organization.

Perhaps the security organization named themselves after the malaria because they thought that would appear a bit more intimidating?
March 26th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
vince3542 Says:

my friend grew up in South Africa and if memory serves, in South Africa in the 19th century "Blackwater Fever" was the name for malaria. His uncle survived "blackwater fever" because the Zulu people took him in. People who caught blackwater fever had but one potential remedy. the Zulu people had a "cure" that South Africans put in place. Persons infected with blackwater fever were strapped down to an ant hill for three days in the sun. the only thing they drank was Zulu beer. if the sun, beer, malaria, and ants didn't kill them after three days, some were said to survive.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
deebaser Says:

Reminds me of that old strategy-game Civilization. At the end of the game you got a rating on how well you did, and how you would be remembered in history. I think the lowest was having a disease named after you

I loved that game. Over Easter Weekend at the folks house I made sure to install Colonization on my laptop. (John Adams on HBO has me on a huge Colonization kick)
March 26th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
galmud Says:

#7 shoeless

Hope not. Mental illnesses are terrible diseases happening to good people. And its stigmatizing enough for them, without having to be associated with criminals like Bush
March 26th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
deebaser Says:

By the bye, “blackwater fever” IS the name for a presentation of malaria:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_fever

Can we get an 'Update: Whoops!' on this if its true that this is not a local colloquialism after all?

Progressive integrity is important.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
galmud Says:

#14 deebaser

I still fire up Colonziation from time to time. Classic :)
March 26th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
deebaser Says:

#17 Sid Meirs is the man.
I refuse to uninstall Alpha Centauri and have had loud abusive fights using VOIP while playing Civ 4 with friends.

"23 gold a turn for IRON!!!??? I WAS YOUR BEST MAN FERCHRISSAKES!!! HOPE YOU BUILT SOME CITY WALLS!!!"

And it usually gets pretty ugly when oil, aluminum, and uranium are thrown into the mix.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Buckie Boy Says:

Diseasing them over there so we don't disease them here.

Relating Blackwater to a Disease is very appropriate.

Bush/Cheney/Blackwater
Hague Trials '09
March 26th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
elizajane Says:

That disease and PARASITES ...and these American Doctors are totally ignorant of .The South lost the war to HOOKWORM infections ...that the slaves brought over with them from Africa ...And this DISEASE is on its way back big time here in America .In West Tennessee hundreds of people are being treated for everything but Parasites .My Grandmother died from Worm Infection .The Parasites gave her a stroke and then she died .She was the cleanest person in the world .I blame Poor city water and under-educated doctors .And these Troops have these Liver Parasites and more than probably other parasite infections .And all it takes is doses of Mebendazolefor HOOKWORM and Rounworm infection the other parasite infections take something else .I seen lots of people who are sick and being cheated by doctors and specialist from quality of life ..Because they are ignorant .I really feel sorry for all these Troops who will come back to a Health Care system that was Broken before they enter the Service .This country needs a big wake up call and BUSH and Cheney need to be IMPEACHED ! Bush went to take care of Africans with out Nets for misquitos ...Hey same thing BUSH is happening here ...PEOPLE ARE DYING BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO HEALTH CARE AND no GOOD doctors to give the care needed !
March 26th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
hussein toasterhead Says:

deebaser Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

Can we get an ‘Update: Whoops!’ on this if its true that this is not a local colloquialism after all?

From the article, it appears that although Iraqis may not have coined the term, they are using it in a wider sense to describe the endemic corruption of the occupation. This failure is personifed perfectly in the Blackwater mercenaries.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
dbadass Says:

Now don't you all wish you were heterozygous for the sickle cell gene
March 26th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Wisco Says:

Progressive integrity is important.

Well, that ship has sailed.

Morons.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Exley Says:

This is the second -- at least -- embarrassing mistake made by ThinkProgress in the last week or so. Last week, it embarrassingly confused Ayman al-Zawahiri with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (An egregious error for which TP has yet to post a correction)....and now they fall for this phony "Blackwater Fever" story....

Two tips ThinkProgress:

1) Do better research so that you stop misidentifying individuals

2) Stop relying on dubious sources of information, like IPS.

ThinkProgress has really been off its game lately.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:34 am
meng Says:

As already pointed out, blackwater fever is a long-standing "nickname" for malaria, although more accurately it refers to severe malaria where enough blood cells have burst that the urine becomes dark (black).
March 27th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
werehawk Says:

Interestingly enough reading through the article one finds some interesting contradictions:

in bold at the top:
>IRAQ: Fever Named After Blackwater
>By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail*
>
>FALLUJAH, Mar 26 (IPS) - Iraqi doctors in al-Anbar province
>warn of a new disease they call "Blackwater" that threatens
>the lives of thousands. The disease is named after Blackwater
>Worldwide, the U.S. mercenary company operating in Iraq.

But further down one finds the following:

>What Iraqis now call Blackwater fever is really a well-known
>medical condition, and while it has nothing to do with
>Blackwater Worldwide, Iraqis in al-Anbar province have decided
>to make the connection between the disease and the lethal
>U.S.-based company which has been responsible for the death of
>countless Iraqis.

Lazy editing or sheer outright editorial incompetence or outright demagogic anti-Americanism on the part of IPS news your pick.

WMD
March 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am

Malarial disease in Iraq dubbed ‘Blackwater Fever.’

Malarial disease in Iraq dubbed ‘Blackwater Fever.’

26 Responses to “Malarial disease in Iraq dubbed ‘Blackwater Fever.’”

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