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October 30, 2002
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Workers Neglected Anthrax Treatment; Only 44 Percent Took Drugs to Protect Against Attacks" Atlanta Journal-Constitution (www.accessatlanta.com/ajc)
(10/30/02) P. 4A; McKenna, M.A.J.
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) raises questions over the willingness of Americans to expose themselves to risk in the event of a bioterrorism attack. According to the CDC report, less than half of the government workers who received antibiotics during last year's anthrax scare took them. Only 44 percent of approximately 10,000 government, media, and postal workers took the full course of antibiotics prescribed, while 13 percent never took the drugs. Although none of the workers who stopped taking their medication developed anthrax, their chances for coming down with full-blown anthrax were greater nonetheless. The disclosure that so few of potential anthrax victims passed on the antibiotics has inspired the CDC to look at other ways to explain the risks in case of another crisis. "We would probably make greater efforts to stay in contact with them, to determine if they were having difficulties and to make sure we could answer their questions," said Dr. Stephen Ostroff, deputy director of the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases. Ostroff suggested that the length of time that people were supposed to take the drugs was likely a key reason why so many people had problems following the regimen; however, he noted that if workers were exposed to anthrax again, a shorter treatment--a vaccine-antibiotics combination--could be used and would only take 30 to 40 days, instead of 60 days for the antibiotics alone.
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