MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

File: 123096_sep96_decls27_0008.txt
Page: 0008
Total Pages: 34

Subject: MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL             

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003203

Folder Title: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST 3106                                                         

Document Number:          1

Folder Seq  #:         28










             0 Increased number of dead animals.

             9 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.

             & 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 immunoprophylaxis. 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 have 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.

             e 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
 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 34 f:/Week-36/BX003203/FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST 3106/medical countermeasures against biological mater:12179609282028
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003203
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST 3106
Folder Seq # = 28
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 = 17-DEC-1996