Grand Forks Air Force Base resumed this week a program of anthrax vaccination for airmen headed for what officials call “high-threat areas,” including the Middle East and Turkey.

Though the vaccine had been embroiled in controversy a few years back, its resumption has been accepted here, according to Maj. Steven Tinc, the base medical expert on this issue.

As part of a Defense Department-wide initiative, the base has started an intensive education program backed up by the latest research that shows the vaccine is safe.

Tinc said some airmen have expressed concern, but he has not had to work as hard to stamp out rumors and misinformation as he did when he worked at Dover Air Force Base, N.J.

In January 2000, that base made national news because a pilot, Maj. Sonnie Bates, risked court martial by refusing the mandated anthrax shots. He cited health concerns after seeing vaccinated airmen fall ill.

But the menace of anthrax did not loom as large then as it does now, after last fall's anthrax-by-mail attacks. The United States also faces war with Iraq, which has the ability to produce mass quantities of the bacteria for use as a weapon.

According to the Defense Department, anthrax is 

the germ of choice in biological weapons programs because it is relatively easy to produce and, in its spore form, can last for decades.

Who gets it

The anthrax vaccine isn't for every airman. Quantities are limited, and only those about to be deployed will get the shots. According to Tinc, those going to the Middle East and Turkey are the second highest priority for anthrax shots next to those actually doing research on the bacteria.

“We know it's a higher threat based on intelligence,” he said.

The danger with anthrax weapons is that they are not easy to detect, according to Tinc. An enemy could explode an anthrax-filled shell or missile far upwind and allow the spores to drift into the opposing camp.

Tinc said he is not allowed to say how many vaccine doses are currently available, but there is enough for those who need it, he said. By December, officials expect to have 400 doses on hand at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

How it works

Vaccination typically begins with three shots within the space of a month. Over the next 17 months, the soldier receives three more shots, followed by annual booster shots.

Like every vaccine, Tinc said, anthrax vaccines do result in side effects in a number of people. But for the vast majority, he said, the effect is only minor discomfort.

There have been worries within the military over the health effects of the vaccine. Some have reported unexplained illnesses after receiving anthrax shots. A recent study by the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine, however, found the vaccine to be reasonably safe. This year, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for public use.

The anthrax vaccine is not new. It has been in use for nearly 40 years among lab workers and textile workers handling wool and hides, according to BioPort Corp. of Lansing, Mich., which makes the anthrax. The Defense Department started a program to vaccinate all of its active personnel and some in the reserves in 1998.

Side effects

According to the department, which set aside a specific Web site to explain anthrax vaccination, www.anthrax.osd.mil, up to 30 percent of men and 60 percent of women will experience some mild reaction, such as muscle soreness. Some will have a tiny lump at the site of injection.

Tinc, who has had all six shots and is going for his seventh, said these go away within a few days.

Between 5 percent and 35 percent of people, the department said, will have symptoms that include “low-grade fever,” chills and nausea. According to Tinc, one in 100,000 will develop a serious allergic reaction requiring hospitalization.

There have been no deaths reported, he said, which is rare for a vaccine.

The threat

There have, however, been deaths resulting from anthrax infection. Last fall's attack killed five.

The effects can be gruesome. According to Tinc, three to six days after exposure, the victim begins to bleed internally from the lungs and around the brain, with blood coagulating in the lungs. Within 10 days, the victim's body experiences “total system failure.”

“It's a pretty ugly death,” Tinc said, “which we can prevent.”

Without the vaccine, he said, the death rate after exposure is up to 98 percent. With the vaccine, he said, it's less than 4 percent.

Asked if the ramping up of the anthrax vaccination program had anything to do with a possible war with Iraq, Tinc said it's a coincidence. BioPort got FDA approval earlier this year, and it took time to build up the stocks, he said.

The next vaccination program coming down the line could be for smallpox. The Defense Department has a plan in place but has not yet approved it. That announcement came on the heels of revelations that Iraq may be one of four nations in the world to have unauthorized samples of the virus.

Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248 or ttran@gfherald.com.