Posted on 01/31/2003 5:43:42 PM PST by RCW2001
Saturday February 1, 2003 1:30 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - One soldier inoculated against smallpox has suffered a potentially serious skin reaction to the vaccine, and officials are investigating whether a second ill soldier also is reacting to the shot, the Pentagon said Friday.
It was the first report of any serious reaction to Americans receiving the vaccinations, which began in December for the military and are just now getting under way for civilians.
The first case, a 30-year-old Army soldier at a U.S. base, was a skin reaction called generalized vaccinia, and officials were confident it was linked to the man's vaccination 10 days earlier.
In the second case, a 26-year-old Army soldier was admitted to an overseas military hospital for encephalitis, a brain disease that can cause paralysis or permanent neurological damage. Diagnostic studies could not confirm that his reaction was due to his smallpox vaccination. But he had received the vaccination eight days earlier, and the timing made authorities suspicious. They are investigating further.
Both men now are in good condition, the Pentagon said.
Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said the reactions were not surprising.
``We can expect additional reactions to occur; some will be significant reactions,'' he said in a statement.
There has been considerable discussion about the vaccine's risks, which are rare but serious. Experts believe that out of every million people being vaccinated for the first time, between 14 and 52 will face serious, life-threatening reactions, and one or two will die. People who come into close contact with vaccines also can be injured.
The vaccine is made with a live virus called vaccinia, which can escape the inoculation site and infect other parts of the body.
Routine smallpox vaccinations ended in this country in 1972 as the disease was being eradicated from Earth. The last U.S. case was in 1949. But officials fear smallpox could return in an act of bioterrorism, and the military believes its forces, on the cusp of war with Iraq, could face a biological attack.
Vaccinations are voluntary for civilians, but mandatory in the military.
The military has not said how many operational forces it has vaccinated so far, but said the total exceeds tens of thousands. In addition, the Pentagon has vaccinated 3,665 health care workers.
The military vaccinations began in December and include up to a half-million troops in high-risk areas, particularly Southwest Asia.
So far, most of the reactions have been minor, the Pentagon said. Three percent of the people being vaccinated had to take sick leave, with an average length of absence of 1.5 days.
The Defense Department would not release the names or locations of the two people who suffered more serious reactions.
The first case was identified last Saturday. The soldier developed a rash about 10 days after being vaccinated that included several pustules, or pus-filled blisters. The rash appears to be ``generalized vaccinia,'' in which the virus travels through the blood and infects the skin.
Generalized vaccinia can develop into a serious skin condition, but in this case, the soldier is well and continues to work at his normal assignment, the Pentagon said.
The second case was identified Sunday. The soldier's was diagnosed with encephalitis, but since the he has ``markedly improved, is in good condition and is expected to be released from the hospital soon,'' the Pentagon said.
Encephalitis can cause paralysis or permanent neurological damage. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting and drowsiness. Based on studies from the 1960s, one person out of every 300,000 vaccinated are expected to come down with this condition.
Those in authority are petrified of blame.
This is not characteristic of leaders, and it is of some concern with regard to larger war issues.
I heard it was hundreds!
Do you realize that the the smallpox vaccines being given to our are little different from the ones used since the 1870s? That is three decades older than the Model T Ford. Ford couldn't build a new Model T today to sell to the public even if it wanted to. It doesn't meet any of the modern emissions and safety standards that modern cars are required to pass. Don't you think there's been at least as much progress in immunology in the last century as there has been in manufacturing? Why shouldn't Americans in the 21st century expect higher standards for vaccines than we had a few decades ago? We certainly have them for just about every other product available on the market.
In fact the Germans developed a much safer vaccine in the 1960s. It has not been proved effective against smallpox in endemic areas due to the erradication of smallpox, but it has been shown to be effective in protecting people in high risk groups from serious side effects of the standard vaccine.
Here are a few links to some of my previous posts on this subject.
I want to try the vaccine, I am just in a high risk group with ezcema and allergies to drugs.
How so? Dryvax is pretty much the same as it was back then, and the diluted form is what they are planning for mass inoculations.
Yes, because everyone else had already been vaccinated.
I doubt it. The Soviets manufactured a stockpile of 20 tons of smallpox virus. I doubt Iraq is the only country that may have obtained samples of this weaponized virus. Also human nature hasn't changed. What is really needed is more research into both new and safer vaccines (by orders of magnitude) and treatments for viral diseases like smallpox. It is quite likely in the future that a bioterrorist would use a pathogen for which there is no exiting vaccine. The ability to treat viral diseases with generic treatments analogously to the way we treat bacterial infections (with antibiotics) would help to alleviate the threat of bioterrorism.
Wouldn't put too much on that.
I'm 77 years old. You get exposed to a lot in that length of time.
I agree. We have some drugs to treat viral infections, but for the most part, if you have a virus, it's "sink or swim"
We must continue to pray for our military, as they face more than just the evil doers we can see, touch, and feel. God protect our soldiers who prepare to fight a righteous battle.
Dryvax is from the same strain of vaccinia used by the New York Board of Health in the 1870s. The method of growing the virus in calves dates to the 19th century. Prior to the 1870s the virus was passed from person to person. The Germans in the 1960s developed an attenuated strain that is incapable of infecting human cells, but produces a strong immune response. See the links in my prior post.
Is there a shot to prevent stupid?
Do you even understand the basics of immunology?
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