The anthrax vaccination is the only known defense available for United States Troops against the .
Many experts have said it is not effective against inhalation anthrax. Studies have .
not been conclusive in their findings. The chance of living if you have received the anthrax vaccination .
seems better. More studies should be conducted outside the Department of Defense, with their .
cooperation, before the process to vaccinate troops continues. .
Anthrax is a disease normally associated with plant eating animals (sheep, goats, and cattle) caused by .
the bacterium Bacillius anthracis. It is now controlled through vaccination programs throughout the .
world including the United States. Human infection with anthrax usually results from contact with .
infected animals or products. Anthrax was discovered by Robert Koch in 1876. An effective vaccine for .
animals was developed in 1881 by Louis Pasteur. In humans, the disease appears in both external and .
internal forms. The external form is contracted through cuts and breaks in the skin. The internal form is .
caught by inhaling anthrax spores, which invade the lungs and intestinal tract (Funk and Wagnalls New .
Encyclopedia, 1996). .
Russian scientists have created a new form of the anthrax virus by genetic engineering. Col. Arthur .
Friedlander , chief of the bacteriology division at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute states, The .
evidence that they presented suggested that it could be resistant to our vaccine (Riechman, Army Times .
03-09-98). When anthrax is used as a biological weapon, people become infected by breathing the .
spores released in the air. Anthrax is 100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent. It .
is the preferred biological agent because it is easy to produce in bulk and the materials are low in cost. .
(B.D.Hawkins,Army Times) Dr. Jose Ramero Cruz, of the World Health Organization states, Because .
anthrax spores are resistant to dryness and heat, they are relatively easy to grind and store.
