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Questions Persist of Anthrax Vaccine Link to Illness Among Gulf War Veterans, Report Says By David Ruppe WASHINGTON — Poor U.S. military health records have hindered research on whether anthrax vaccinations may have been a factor in illnesses affecting thousands of U.S. troops who participated in the 1991 Gulf War, according to a report published last week. A Department of Veterans Affairs research advisory committee published a report Friday concluding that there is credible evidence of diverse, widespread illnesses, some particularly severe, resulting at least in part from exposure to toxic chemicals such as Iraqi nerve agents released from destroyed facilities. The report, titled Scientific Progress in Understanding Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses: Report and Recommendations, says other potential causes include infectious diseases, smoke from oil-well fires, and vaccinations against anthrax and other biological agents. Of those, it says, “The most consistent epidemiological findings come from studies linking multisymptom illnesses in Gulf War veterans to receipt of vaccines.” It says, though, that poor record keeping by U.S. military agencies undermines efforts to assess the degree to which side effects from vaccines may have contributed to the widespread illnesses. “Reports have indicated that the anthrax vaccine administered during the Gulf War, commonly referred to as AVA (anthrax vaccine absorbed) is associated with a relatively high rate of acute adverse reactions, and have pointed out that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether the AVA vaccine formulation may be associated with long-term health” effects it says. Citing anthrax and botulinum toxoid vaccinations, the report says, “Many units did not record information on these vaccines in the shot records of personnel.” Safety and Effectiveness QuestionedAbout 700,000 troops were deployed to Gulf War, of which 150,000 received the anthrax vaccine. Thousands of soldiers have suffered a diverse range of unexplained symptoms following their service. Potential problems with the anthrax vaccine, the report states, are ones of quality control during manufacturing, changes in the manufacturing process that may have resulted in increased levels of active antigen, and the use of unapproved adjuvants to bolster the effectiveness of the vaccines. A newer form of AVA has been used in a controversial mandatory program to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of U.S. forces and civilians in the past two years and the Army until recently aggressively vaccinated forces in countries around the globe against the disease. A federal judge ordered last month, however, that vaccinations not be made without informed consent, finding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not obey federal law last year when it ruled the drug safe and effective (see GSN, Nov. 11). The military has since suspended all anthrax vaccinations. A U.S. military Web site says the vaccine is “as safe as other vaccines” and that “There is no reasonable evidence that anthrax vaccine caused Gulf War illnesses.” “Multiple civilian panels found no evidence linking vaccination and Gulf War illnesses,” it says, but also cited a lack of data. “These civilian panels knew DOD didn’t keep comprehensive records of who received the anthrax vaccine in the Gulf War. DOD did not identify vaccinated units in order to keep Iraq from aiming bioweapons at unvaccinated units,” it says. Seven independent civilian panels, the Web site says, “affirm the safety of anthrax vaccine.” Apparently contrary to the report’s finding, Col. John Grabenstein the deputy director for military vaccines for the Army Surgeon General, told Global Security Newswire, “Absolutely no unapproved adjuvants were used in anthrax vaccine given to the troops.” More Research NeededThe research advisory committee report recommends that U.S. government agencies — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and the Defense Department — conducting vaccine testing “ensure that these trials include follow-up assessments of study subjects a minimum of five years after inoculation,” and use methods and instruments for detecting symptoms experienced by Gulf War veterans. It also recommends a “retrospective” study to compare the illnesses suffered by Gulf War veterans who received the vaccine to those who did not. The committee said it intends in the coming months to investigate many of the hypothetical causes for Gulf War illness, including “a more detailed consideration of evidence relating to vaccines.” Grabenstein said a long-term study of more than 100,000 service members is under way that “will be able to do comparisons and contrasts of anthrax-vaccinated and -unvaccinated personnel.” “Clearly the VA research advisory committee recognizes there are some significant concerns about the anthrax vaccine and that more research is necessary,” Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) told GSN. “In my view, there is no doubt that the Department of Defense should continue the operation of the Vaccine Healthcare [Centers], which is conducting some of this important work right now,” he said, referring to a small network of military centers for treaty and studying vaccine side effects for which Congress approved funding this year (see GSN, May 18).
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