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 ASHINGTON--The
Pentagon announced Monday that it will inoculate an estimated 2.4 million
of its uniformed personnel and reservists against deadly anthrax--the first
time the U.S. military has conducted such a vaccination program to protect
against a germ-warfare agent.
An Ancient Enemy
The Pentagon's decision to vaccinate 2.4 million personnel for anthrax
recognizes a serious threat from biological warfare. But the disease has
been around since ancient times; one of the 10 biblical plagues was probably
the skin boils and infection caused by the rod-like bacillus anthracis
bacterium, above. It is considered one of the most lethal of biological
agents in germ warfare.
Spread: The bacteria shed spores that can last in soil or water
for years. Historically, it has spread from farm animals to humans. As
a biological agent, it can be powdered and stored. It has been researched
for germ warfare since before World War II because of its quick onset and
disabling effects.
Skin exposure: Spores come in contact with a break in the skin.
A boil-like lesion with a black center forms. Nearby lymph nodes may swell.
In serious cases, severe blood infections can develop.
Treatment: Antibiotics
Inhalation: Highly dangerous form results from breathing spores.
Symptoms are flu-like; viral pneu-monia and sometimes meningitis develop
quickly.
Treatment: Antibiotics, but disease in this form is 90% fatal even
with treatment.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Virginia
Department of Health; Travel Health Online; Iowa State University. Researched
by SCOTT J. WILSON and VICKY McCARGAR / Los Angeles Times
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Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said
he made the decision to launch the $130-million program after a three-year
study showed that vaccination was the surest way to guard against an almost
universally fatal agent that is regarded as an ideal biological wartime
killer.
"This is a force-protection issue,"
he said. "To be effective, medical force protection must be comprehensive,
well documented and consistent. I have instructed the military to put such
a program in place."
Anthrax is caused by a lethal bacterium believed
to be among those found in the standard biological arsenals of at least
10 nations, the Pentagon said. It did not name the countries, but they
are believed to include Iraq, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Russia and China.
The vaccine will first be given next summer
to 100,000 troops in the high-threat areas of the Persian Gulf and Southwest
Asia.
Within the next several years it will be
given to all troops--numbering about 1.5 million--as well as those reservists
who routinely train and are likely to be called to active duty in an emergency,
Pentagon officials said.
The Pentagon has increased its scrutiny of
the danger of biological weapons since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the conflict
that brought U.S. soldiers under the very real threat of unconventional
weapons for the first time since World War I.
Terrorist bombings aimed at U.S. troops in
Saudi Arabia and fears that enemies such as Iraq and North Korea might
use biological weapons prompted the Pentagon initiative, officials said.
Moreover, the decision comes amid the continuing dispute with Iraq's Saddam
Hussein over the United Nations' attempts to gain access to his weapons
arsenal.
Such factors "make it prudent to include
biological-warfare defense as part of our force-protection planning,"
the Pentagon said in a statement.
Anthrax is a spore-producing organism that
can be stored in dry form indefinitely and then released into the atmosphere
through detonation or spray. Once breathed into the lungs, the spores germinate,
producing a massive infection; this is followed by bleeding in the lungs,
shock and then death, often within days.
The disease--which usually afflicts only
animals, primarily cattle and sheep--also can be acquired through the skin
and the gastrointestinal tract, but it is considered less serious in these
circumstances, according to experts.
"Our goal is to vaccinate everybody
in the force so they will be ready to deploy anywhere, any time,"
said Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre, who will supervise the program.
Great Britain and Russia already give mandatory
anti-Anthrax inoculations to their troops, and the vaccine is widely used
by veterinarians, laboratory workers and civilians who work with livestock.
For U.S. troops, inoculations against a variety
of diseases--such as measles and polio--are normal.
More than 150,000 U.S. forces who served
in the Gulf War were inoculated against anthrax. The recommendation to
initiate the inoculation as a routine procedure has been under debate for
several years.
Initially, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and
other military officials opposed the idea, arguing that it would be smarter
to wait for the development of a multipurpose vaccine that could be used
to counter a variety of biological agents, including anthrax.
But high-ranking Pentagon officials reversed
themselves in the fall of 1996. The officials denied the timing was related
to the severe criticism the Pentagon received for a poor response to the
possible exposure of U.S. troops to toxic agents during the Gulf War.
Although the inoculation plan had been studied
at the Pentagon, Cohen directed that it be independently assessed by Dr.
Gerald N. Burrow of Yale University before approving it.
The vaccine consists of a series of six subcutaneous
(under the skin) inoculations administered over 18 months, followed by
an annual booster. Protection levels increase as shots in the series are
given, but the entire series is required for full protection. It is considered
highly effective--but it is useless if administered after exposure to the
organism.
The vaccine's side effects have been shown
to be minimal--it has caused malaise and fatigue in fewer than 0.2% of
those receiving it, and chills and fever in a few cases, according to the
labeling information on the product.
Copyright Los Angeles Times
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