Time: Tue Dec 16 16:56:10 1997
To: 
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: Military fights anthrax threat (fwd)
Cc: 
Bcc: sls, friends
References: 

<snip>
>
>>Subject: Military fights anthrax threat
>>
>>I sure in hell wouldn't let these people put this sh!t in me.
>>
>>
>>http://www.freep.com/news/health/qinoc16.htm
>>
>>                         [The freep][news][Health]
>>
>> [news area navigation map]
>> [Image]
>>
>>     [Search]
>>                   Military fights anthrax threat
>>
>>                   U.S. troops to get shots starting
>>                   next summer
>>
>>                   December 16, 1997
>>
>>                   BY RICHARD PARKER
>>                   Free Press Washington Staff
>>
>>                   WASHINGTON -- The government is going
>>                   to spend $130 million to inoculate
>>                   the U.S. military against anthrax
>>                   with a Michigan-made vaccine in an
>>                   effort to protect 2.4 million troops
>>                   against biological warfare.
>>
>>                   The decision announced Monday
>>                   reflects mounting concern that rogue
>>                   nations or terrorist groups using
>>                   cheap weapons of mass destruction
>>                   could wreak havoc on U.S. troops.
>>
>>                   "We owe it to our people to move
>>                   ahead with this immunization plan,"
>>                   Defense Secretary William Cohen said
>>                   in a statement.
>>
>>                   Cohen's decision comes as Iraqi
>>                   President Saddam Hussein and the
>>                   United Nations confront each other
>>                   over UN inspections in Iraq.
>>
>>                   But the plan has been in the works
>>                   for over a year and is unrelated to
>>                   current tensions with Iraq, Pentagon
>>                   officials said.
>>
>>                   Starting next summer, active duty
>>                   servicemen and servicewomen as well
>>                   as some reservists will get six
>>                   injections over 18 months, followed
>>                   by a yearly booster shot.
>>
>>                   The FDA-approved vaccine saw its
>>                   widest use during the Persian Gulf
>>                   War, when 150,000 troops received
>>                   shots. It is currently given each
>>                   year to about 3,000 people in special
>>                   forces and biological units.
>>
>>                   Civilian veterinarians and livestock
>>                   workers also widely use the vaccine,
>>                   which is made under contract by
>>                   Michigan Department of Community
>>                   Health.
>>
>>                   Community Health spokeswoman Geralyn
>>                   Lasher said the department is the
>>                   sole manufacturer of the anthrax
>>                   vaccine to be licensed by the Food
>>                   and Drug Administration.
>>
>>                   "The anthrax vaccine is safe," Lasher
>>                   said. "With a very few people, there
>>                   will be body aches and fever, but
>>                   those will last for a short time --
>>                   no permanent effects from it."
>>
>>                   Undertaking such a massive
>>                   vaccination effort will not be easy,
>>                   military officials cautioned. The
>>                   Pentagon will have to track and
>>                   vaccinate the 200,000 people who join
>>                   the armed forces each year. In six
>>                   months, the vaccine will be injected
>>                   first into 100,000 troops in the
>>                   Middle East and South Korea.
>>
>>                   One senior military official,
>>                   speaking on condition of anonymity,
>>                   estimated that the vaccine would be
>>                   95 percent effective.
>>
>>                   Staff writer Matt Helms contributed
>>                   to this report.
>>
>>                            MORE HEALTH STORIES
>>
>>                          FREEP FRONT | NEWS FRONT
>>                                                            -------------
>>                                                            ANTHRAX
>>                                                            -------------
>>
>>                                                            IT'S A
>>                                                            BACTERIA
>>                                                            that usually
>>                                                            infects
>>                                                            animals --
>>                                                            primarily
>>                                                            sheep,
>>                                                            cattle and
>>                                                            horses. It
>>                                                            is
>>                                                            contagious.
>>
>>                                                            ANTHRAX
>>                                                            ATTACKS with
>>                                                            spores that
>>                                                            are inhaled.
>>                                                            Within six
>>                                                            days, organs
>>                                                            and muscles
>>                                                            shut down
>>                                                            and the
>>                                                            victim
>>                                                            suffocates.
>>
>>                                                            AS A WEAPON
>>                                                            the spores
>>                                                            are produced
>>                                                            dry and
>>                                                            packed into
>>                                                            shells or
>>                                                            bombs; the
>>                                                            poison can
>>                                                            be sprayed,
>>                                                            too. Tiny
>>                                                            amounts are
>>                                                            deadly. An
>>                                                            area
>>                                                            attacked
>>                                                            with anthrax
>>                                                            can be
>>                                                            contaminated
>>                                                            for decades.
>>
>>                                                            The Defense
>>                                                            Department
>>                                                            considers it
>>                                                            the easiest
>>                                                            biological
>>                                                            weapon to
>>                                                            make and the
>>                                                            most lethal.
>>
>>                                                            IRAQ, RUSSIA
>>                                                            AND 10 other
>>                                                            countries
>>                                                            have the
>>                                                            ability to
>>                                                            make
>>                                                            anthrax.
>>
>>                                                            THE VACCINE
>>                                                            costs $3.60
>>                                                            a dose, but
>>                                                            is not
>>                                                            available to
>>                                                            the general
>>                                                            public. It's
>>                                                            used mostly
>>                                                            by the
>>                                                            military and
>>                                                            people who
>>                                                            handle
>>                                                            livestock.
>>
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>>
>> All content © copyright 1997 Detroit Free Press and may not be republished
>>                            without permission.
>
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