deadly object. Anthrax spores, protected by a hard shell, can survive for years in the soil before germinating.
ATLANTA - controversial Pentagon policy of vaccination against anthrax soldiers did not lead to serious health problems, the first results of a multi-year study suggests. The results, presented here on July 16 at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, shows that the number of hospitalizations - an approximate indicator of health - is less, rather than more, among the troops who have received at least one shot of anthrax.
biowarfare Fearing, the Department of Defense (DOD) has started to vaccinate 2.4 million military and sports against anthrax in 1998. But some of the more than 400,000 people vaccinated to date have reported a variety of side effects, including fatigue, pain and immune disorders. And about 350 risked court martial by refusing the shots. Alarmed, a Congressional subcommittee called for a suspension of the program in February. But the DOD has always insisted that the vaccine is safe. Although forced to slow last week due to a shortage of vaccine doses, the ministry does not intend to call the program.
To prove the vaccines are safe, DOD researchers monitored the health of the troops vaccinated since 1998. Reasoning that serious side effects would eventually cause the military to end up in a hospital bed, Paul Sato San Diego Naval Health Research Center and colleagues examined hospitalization rates among nearly 150,000 people who had received at least one shot, and some 1.4 million which has not yet rolled up their sleeves. Among the latter group, about 46 thousand were hospitalized each year of observation; among those who received one dose of vaccine against anthrax, that number was only 25-1 statistically significant difference
The researchers do not know why immunization is correlated with fewer hospitalizations .. The first troops to get the vaccine are those provided for overseas service in high-risk areas such as the Persian Gulf; since people with health problems are not eligible for these missions, this group was probably healthier than average. The researchers point out that the number of vaccinated people is still low; a more definitive answer should come in a few years when most vaccinated people were followed over a longer period of time.
However, the results confirm previous studies, said John Grabinstein, deputy director of the vaccination program against anthrax at the US Army Medical Command, and they show that there is no reason stop the program. "It is exactly what we expect," said Grabinstein. "There is nothing inherently unusual about the vaccine against anthrax."
Related Sites
Anthrax information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The official website DOD Anthrax Information
The International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases
0 Komentar