Soldiers, Families Ask Pentagon to Investigate Pneumonia Cases More Thoroughly

U.S. soldiers who have experienced pneumonia-like symptoms have complained that the U.S. Defense Department has not adequately investigated whether vaccines they received played a role in their illnesses, United Press International reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 10).

Some of the ill soldiers have said they started suffering pneumonia-like symptoms after receiving vaccines, particularly the anthrax vaccine, according to UPI.  Air Force Staff Sgt. Neal Erickson said he was hospitalized at Incerlik Air Force Base in Turkey in March 10 days after receiving the fourth in a series of anthrax vaccinations.  He said that he received another anthrax vaccination in August and 10 days later was hospitalized again with the same symptoms.

Erickson said the Pentagon has not considered that the vaccines are what made him ill and that he is now afraid of receiving the next planned anthrax vaccination, scheduled in five months.

“I’m real touchy here.  Come a few more months, I’m in line to get another.  It’s not like we have a choice in the matter,” he said.

The Pentagon is currently investigating an outbreak of 19 pneumonia cases among U.S. troops in southwestern Asia.  Statistical analysis has indicated that vaccinated military personnel are no more likely to develop pneumonia as those who have not been vaccinated, said Pentagon officials.  They added that there is also little evidence that military personnel are more likely to develop pneumonia after being vaccinated.

“We knew beforehand that the rate of pneumonia in anthrax-vaccinated people and in anthrax-unvaccinated people were essentially the same, so our starting point was that this was unlikely,” said Col. John Grabenstein, deputy director of the Military Vaccine Office (Mark Benjamin, United Press International, Sept. 16).

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U.S. Announces Cooperative BW Nonproliferation Effort With Russia

The U.S. State Department yesterday announced a $1.7 million contract to support collaboration between U.S. and Russian scientific centers as part of a new biological nonproliferation effort (see GSN, Aug. 18).

The contract will help fund collaboration between the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology in Boston and the International Science and Technology Center in Moscow, according to a State press release.  The contract was awarded through the department’s BioIndustry Initiative, which seeks to transform Russian biological weapons facilities into civilian institutions through U.S.-Russian research partnerships (U.S. State Department release, Sept. 15).

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U.S. Awards More Than $26 Million for Biodefense Training

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department Friday awarded more than $26 million in grants to medical facilities and universities in 23 states to help improve biological defense training and education (see GSN, June 17).

The department’s Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program has awarded more than $22 million to help provide bioterrorism-related continuing education for health care workers.  The program has also provided more than $4 million to develop new emergency preparedness curricula in medical schools.

“Our health care professionals need to be prepared for the special demands that a bioterrorism attack could make on them and on our health care system,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said in a press statement.  “This new program is an important part of our broader efforts to prepare our public health system, develop effective medical countermeasures and stand ready to respond if bioterrorism should strike,” he said (U.S. Health and Human Services Department release, Sept. 12).

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