MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

File: 120396_sep96_decls8_0006.txt
Page: 0006
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









                  disease will occur. The incubation period in this
                  example will be prolonged. if the drug is given in
                  the late incubation period, the clinical disease can
                  be prevented.

             0 Antibiotics might also be effective in conjunction with
             vaccines.



         m

             The treatment required for casualties from biological
         operations will not differ in principle from that required for
         patients suffering from the same disease incurred by natural
         means. There will certainly be significant difference in the
         methods of providing this care, but the basic principles will be
         the same. The biggest problem will be in providing basic medical
         care to a large number of cases occurring during a comparatively
         short span of time.

             An important exception is a situation resulting from the use
         of biological toxins where dramatic acute symptoms such as
         respiratory paralysis would indicate the need for various types of
         advanced equipment.

             it is emphasized at this point that each country should
         include in its preparedness planning for the military as well as
         the civilian population, the provision and storage of a sufficient
         amount of broad spectrum antibiotics. Such antibiotics may be
         needed in an early phase after a known or suspected biological
         attack, before a final microbiological diagnosis has been reached
         an antibiotic sensitivity pattern determined.

             There are certain unique aspects of medical defense against
         biological attack that possibly would make the problem less
         difficult than that which could be encountered in other mass
         casualty situations. Individuals becoming ill from an attack with
         a biological weapon would not all become casualties at the same
a nuclear
         explosion, saturation bombing, or a massive surprise attack with
         nerve gas. Dosage variation and host resistance cause the onset
         of illness to be spread over a number of hours or days. Thus, the
         casualty load would occur as represented roughly by a bell-shaped
         curve with relatively few casualties at the beginning, the number






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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