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Anthrax: Anthrax Vaccine
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Anthrax is one of the oldest recorded diseases, being mentioned in the biblical book of Exodus and among the Classical authors of Greek and Roman antiquity. Devastating epidemics of the disease were recorded by many medieval and modern writers. In the 16th to 18th century it sometimes spread across the southern part of Europe, taking a heavy toll on human and animal life. The causative agent was identified by French biologist Casimir-Joseph Davaine in 1863 and by German bacteriologist Robert Koch, who isolated the organism in pure culture in 1876. An effective vaccine was demonstrated by French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur in 1881. These discoveries were part of the origin and development of the modern sciences of bacteriology and immunology.
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Anthrax spores have been used experimentally by various nations as a biological warfare agent, but effective delivery of anthrax to a population is difficult, and such use is now banned by international convention. Because anthrax has been tested as a biological weapon, the United States has developed a vaccine for military use, but it requires several injections and annual boosters. An accidental release of anthrax from a military laboratory near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) in the Soviet Union resulted in 68 deaths from pulmonary anthrax in 1979. In 2001 a number of people in the United States were exposed to spores that were sent through the mails and contracted anthrax; several persons died. Although these bioterror attacks occurred shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it did not appear to be linked to them.
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Use of Anthrax Vaccine in the United States: Recommendations of The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, US Department of Health &Human Services, CDC; Dec. 15, 2000/vol. 49/No. RR-15. Chemical - Biological Warfare Fact Sheet," US Department of State, Washington, DC; 2001; http://travel.state.gov/cbw.html
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Anthrax vaccine is available for people in high-risk occupations. The spread of anthrax can be prevented by: carefully handle dead animals suspected of having anthrax; provide good ventilation when processing hides, fur, hair or wool; and vaccinate animals.
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Anthrax was intimately associated with the origins of microbiology and immunology, being the first disease for which a microbial origin was definitively established, in 1876, by Robert Koch2. It ... was the first disease for which an effective live bacterial vaccine was developed, in 1881, by Louis Pasteur3. During the latter half of the 19th century, a previously unrecognized form of anthrax appeared for the first time, namely, inhalational anthrax4. This occurred among wool sorters in England, due to the generation of infectious aerosols of anthrax spores under industrial conditions, from the processing of contaminated goat hair and alpaca wool. It probably represents the first described occupational respiratory infectious disease.
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Anthrax bacteria could be used in an attack against military personnel in the United States during a conflict. Anthrax is a frightening agent in biological warfare because it is easily sprayed over a large area. Once inhaled, and if untreated with antibiotics, the anthrax spores can cause a uniformly fatal infection. Because not all people with anthrax who are treated with antibiotics survive, and because the length of treatment for someone who has inhaled spores is unclear, the anthrax vaccine is of value. On the other hand, the anthrax vaccine has a side effect profile similar to vaccines routinely recommended for children. No evidence supports an association between the receipt of the anthrax vaccine and long-term side effects.
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Anthrax Vaccine