MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

File: 120396_sep96_decls8_0005.txt
Page: 0005
Total Pages: 13

Subject: MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL             

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box ID: BX003203

Folder Title: MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS                                            

Document Number:          1

Folder SEQ  #:         27










            0 Increased number of dead animals.

            0 Infections and toxicoses occurring without supportive
            epidemiology; e.g., tularemia occurring without a tick bite
            or exposure to sick rabbits or muskrats, and Venezuelan equine
            encephalitis without vectors.

            e Direct evidence (i.e., finding a contaminated bomblet or
            rocket from which an infections agent is isolated and
            identified.)

            0 witness of attack.



        PROPHYLAXIS AND THERAPY

            0 inanunoprophylaxis. It is anticipated that in a biological
        operational situation the agents would be disseminated by aerosol
        and infection would be most likely via the respiratory system,
        which may be an unnatural route of infection for the agent.
        Normal public health measures used to control a natural epidemic
        may not be effective. Vaccines against a number of potential
        biological threat agents ave been developed.

                 Morbidity from immunization, although generally low
                 can be potentially significant; this is seen more
                 often with relatively crude vaccine preparations
                 such as whole cell killed types. Idiosyncratic
                 reactions are associated with nearly all vaccines
                 but effect a very small number of recipients.

            0 Chemoprophylaxis. It is impractical, wasteful and
            dangerous to place everyone located in a potential target area
            on prophylactic antibiotics in anticipation of a biological
            attack. If an attack is known to have occurred and the
            organism identified, chemoprophylaxis could be useful.

                 A thorough knowledge of the disease against which
                 protection is being sought is desirable. One should
                 know the appropriate antibiotic, its dosage, and
                 schedule of use, and the time within the incubation
             period to administer the drug. For example in the
                 case of Q fever, the tetracycline drugs are
                 effective for treatment of the clinical illness.
                 For prophylaxis, if the drug is given in the early
                 incubation period, the disease will only be
                 suppressed, and on cessation of therapy the clinical



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Document 13 f:/Week-36/BX003203/MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS/medical countermeasures against biological mater:1108961508469
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003203
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
Folder Seq # = 27
Subject = MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATER
Document Seq # = 1
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 08-NOV-1996