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October 18, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Report Chides U.S. on Anthrax Preparations"

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (www.accessatlanta.com/ajc)

(10/18/02) P. 3B; Edmonson, George

Stepped-up emergency preparations need to be taken against the possibility of anthrax being used as a bioterrorist weapon says retired Marine Corps Gen. Randall West in a report commissioned by BioPort, the sole licensed manufacturer of an anthrax vaccine. The warning came out on Thursday through a report compiled by West, a past special adviser for chemical and biological protection to the deputy secretary of defense, Robert Kramer, president and COO of BioPort, Dr. Gilbert Ross, the executive director and medical director of the American Council on Science and Health, and other experts.  Ross noted that bioterrorism emergency preparedness has remained primarily focused on smallpox despite the known fact that many countries not only possess the anthrax contaminate but also have the capability of manufacturing it.  New strains resistant to antibiotics are being developed. Among his suggestions for emergency preparedness, West called for the determination of those people at greatest risk, followed by an increase in the production and stockpiling of a vaccine, and ramped up research and preparedness for new antibiotic-resistant strains.  Finally, the report urges that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to complete their efficacy studies of the current vaccine at half the dosage, a priority that Kramer claims could ultimately mean a dramatic increase in the number of people that could be protected with the current stockpile.

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