Misc Vaccines - Anthrax, etc

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On 16 August 1990 a meeting was held at the Centre for Applied Microbiology & Research (CAMR) in Porton Down. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the availability of vaccines and immunisations to the MoD. Points minuted during the meeting include:

1. the fact that (based on animal trials) the effectiveness of the Anthrax Vaccine is increased if given with an "adjuvant" (Pertussis or Whooping Cough Vaccine) (Page 2 Para 2)
2. the fact that the effectiveness could be further increased by doubling the dose (Page 2 Para 3)
3. that Licence Variation or Crown Privilege would need to be sought as the process wasn't currently legal (Page 2 Para 5d)
4. that, should the combination of vaccine and adjuvant be given, a great opportunity existed to get "Human Data" on the effectiveness of the combination (Page 2 Para 6)

 

The "Missing Fax"

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On 21 December 1990 a fax was sent from the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control to the Department of Health in Whitehall. The fax related to Anthrax/Pertussis and warned that in animal trials the condition of the animals deteriorated when the two agents were combined. Note that this was at the single human dose level and we were to be given a double dose. It is claimed that this fax went missing and was never read; the truth of what happened will probably never be known.

 

Plague

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On 2 January 1991 a meeting was held in Whitehall to discuss providing UK service personnel with protection against Plague. Decisions taken in the meeting include:

1. that the Cutter Vaccine would be used to protect UK Personnel against Plague (Para 2)
2. that as a consequence of the preceding decision, planned animal trials to test the effectiveness of the vaccine would be cancelled (Para 3)
3. that the Chemical Defence Establishment (CDE) at Porton Down should provide an initial assessment of the safety of the vaccination (Para 4)
4. that further work to assess the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine (by a contractor) would not be carried out until the requirement was reviewed (Para 4)
5. the observation that it would take CDE 6 to 10 WEEKS to carry out it's part (Para 4)

 

Advice to Commanders

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On 8 February 1991 a memo was sent to the CDE Porton Down requesting advice. Points raised in the memo include:

1. concerns over the long term use of Pyridostigmine Bromide (PB or "NAPS") (Page 1 Para 3a)
2. worries that a third Anthrax/Pertussis vaccination, coupled with a Second Plague vaccination, would have a MORE severe pattern of side effects together with a LARGER NUMBER of side effects (Page 1 Para 3b)
3. the statement that there are no known long term effects of taking PB (Page 1 Para 4a)
4. that CDE was asked to provide info on the long term effects of PB (Page 2 Para 5a)
5. a heavily redacted paragraph asking "By how much is (it) thought ???? could be enhanced by giving ???? doses (of) vaccine both with and without the adjuvant Pertussis?" (Page 2 Para 5c)

 

Vaccination Amendment

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On 12 February 1991 a signal was sent out advising that:

1. Pertussis should ONLY be given as an adjuvant to the first two Anthrax Vaccinations (Para 1)
2. a SECOND Anthrax booster could be given (making 3 Anthrax vaccinations in total) (Para 3)

 

Experiment Results

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In October 1997 a paper was published by the MoD detailing the outcome of giving the Anthrax/Pertussis combination to service personnel, or to put it another way, the results of the experiment!

What is of great interest is the fact that one of the deductions of the experiment is to state that the effect of the vaccination on personnel was very much dependent on both the individual's genetic make up and the number of external stressors affecting that individual at the time. This may go a long way towards explaining why some are ill, some are not and, those who are ill are ill to different degrees and in subtly different ways (Page 7 Central Paragraph)

 

SPVA - Awareness of Symptoms

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In June 1997 the SPVA issued guidelines to it's staff covering how claims for illness associated with the Gulf War should be handled. Although an attempt was made to redact the document, it is still quite legible and you can clearly see the type of symptoms suffered by Gulf War veterans (Para 40654)

 

FDA Clearance

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In a posting last updated in 2009 the FDA explains how it has given clearance for the use of PB as an effective agent against nerve agent - but only one nerve agent; SOMAN (Para 1).
Additionally, the listing states that, in the 1991 Gulf War, PB was used as an "investigational new drug" (Para 11).

 

PB (NAPS) vs Sarin and Soman

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PB (NAPS) was meant to reduce the effects of Soman. Iraq did not have Soman but did have Sarin. PB reduces the chances of an effective recovery from Sarin poisoning,