A House panel says the military�s program to inoculate all 2.4 million troops against anthrax as protection against biological warfare is based on �dangerously narrow scientific� evidence and should be suspended. Complaints included fevers, muscle pain and dizziness. Some reserve pilots testified they would resign to protect their health and flying careers while other soldiers in the active military have faced court martials.

The anthrax vaccine should be considered experimental because its effectiveness against biological warfare is uncertain and the safety of troops taking the anthrax shots is not being monitored adequately, according to the sharply critical report released February 18 by the Government Reform Committee�s national security subcommittee.

The report says the immunization program �is an unmanageably broad military undertaking built on a dangerously narrow scientific and medical foundation.� The 80-page report was written by the subcommittee�s Republican majority after six hearings on the vaccination program. The vaccine has come under increasing scrutiny from congressional lawmakers as soldiers, including pilots in the National Guard and reserves, have expressed concerns about taking the six-shot regimen.

Complaints included fevers, muscle pain and dizziness. Some reserve pilots testified they would resign to protect their health and flying careers while other soldiers in the active military have faced court martials. In 1998, Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered all active duty and reserve troops to get shots of the anthrax vaccine, starting with soldiers most likely to encounter biological warfare overseas. Some 340,000 service members have been immunized so far.

Anthrax

• Unlike smallpox, anthrax is not spread from person to person. But it is just as deadly: Anthrax, released by airplane, could spread quickly. The aerosol cloud created would be colorless, odorless and invisible.
• The small size of Anthrax spores means they are as likely to infect people indoors as those on the street.
• The U.S. Office of Technology Assessment estimated that 130,000 to 3 million deaths could occur following the release of 100 kilograms of aerosolized anthrax over Washington D.C., making such an attack as lethal as a hydrogen bomb.

Symptoms:

• A long incubation period is a potential problem: Exposure to an aerosol of anthrax spores could cause symptoms as soon as 2 days after exposure.
• However, illness could also develop as late as 8 weeks later -- in Svedlovsk, one case developed 46 days after exposure.
• Untreated, 90 percent of people die, most within one to three days.
• Antibiotics can significantly reduce the risk of death, but only if given within the first few days of symptoms.

About 200 to 300 have refused to take it because of concerns about its safety and efficacy, Pentagon officials say. Anthrax is a naturally occurring bacteria found in domesticated animals; it can be produced as dry spores that, when inhaled, cause death within a few days.

The vaccine had been studied mostly for its effectiveness in protecting veterinarians and mill and livestock handlers decades ago against infection from touching animals or animal parts of goats, sheep or cattle. There is little research concerning the inhalation of anthrax spores by humans and no long-term research on the vaccine, the report says; therefore, the vaccine should be regarded as an investigational drug, requiring the approval of troops to be administered.

The report also says the program should be suspended because some troops have told lawmakers they do not trust medical information provided by the Defense Department and that is hurting troop retention and morale.

The department has engaged in �absolutist declarations� and �heavy-handed propaganda,� labeling critics as paranoid rather than answering their questions, the report said. Instead of encouraging reporting of adverse reactions, the lawmakers said, the military may have under-reported problems with shots due to an �institutional culture that is hostile, even resistant, to reports."

Unfortunately the Pentagon categorically rejected a call from a congressional committee to suspend its mandatory anthrax immunization program for the military on February 17.

The Pentagon with the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga., is attempting to develop a new, hopefully less invasive vaccine for anthrax. The current vaccine requires a series of six shots over 18 months. That work could take months or years, however. More than 400,000 military service members have begun their immunization program, using about 1.5 million doses so far.