- This following was sent by a military
pharmacy officer:
-
- "Much nonsense has been appearing
about anthrax cures. We hear about 'colloidal silver,' vinegar, and a host
of other folk remedies. Forget it. They don't work. Just wishful thinking.
We are talking about military grade anthrax here, not the kind that you
can find in the soil or that often infests livestock.
-
- The only thing that really works are
vaccines, and then only if it is the right vaccine, tailored for that strain
of anthrax. The wrong vaccine won't work either. And we can expect an enemy
to use a mix of military grade strains, so that if we have the vaccines
for some we won't have all of them covered.
-
- But a great deal depends on the level
of exposure. It is possible to survive if one is exposed to very low levels
of pathogen, so, lacking the right vaccines, one can improve his chances
by doing what one can to reduce the levels of exposure. Most of that involves
the kinds of prophylactic measures used in medical operating rooms: filtered
air, protective garments and gloves, antisepsis, and cleanliness.
-
- Rooms can be sealed with plastic over
windows and doors, but one must allow for necessary ventilation to avoid
suffocation. That means using air filters with high HEPA ratings. These
can be obtained in connection with air purifiers and vacuum cleaners.
-
- Having a supply of plastic gloves is
important, as is such precautions as not touching one's face or supplies
of food or water, which should be kept sealed when not being used. If exposure
is suspected, sterilization procedures must be taken before opening the
containers.
-
- In a pinch, plastic sheeting can be used
to make protective garments, but beware of heat prostration, which can
be avoided by occasional immersion in a pool of cool water.
-
- The other major measure is departure
from the area. This is a tough one, because if you have been contaminated,
you may only be spreading the contagion to others and endangering them
as well. If exposure is confirmed, you have a duty not to leave the area,
but to cooperate in establishing a quarantine of yourself and others in
the exposed area, to try to confine the area of exposure." (end forwarded
message)
-
-
- This a very good commentary about dealing
with anthrax exposure. The initial treatise, to debunk many of the wide
spread (via internet, too 'folk remedies' is proper. Colloidal silver has
been shown to have a definite, but weak, antibiotic effect on serious pathogens.
It would be effective only for negligible anthrax exposures, although
for lesser microbes it may be much more effective. Oil extracts and other
such tales have shown absolutely no direct effect. It should be noted,
however, that any effort to support and/or strengthen the natural immune
system is of great assistance. Delaying the anthrax symptoms from appearing
in one's body gives one more time to deal with it. Once the serious symptoms
do appear nothing short of a lightning bolt miracle will avoid death.
Not every victim will begin demonstrating signs of anthrax exposure at
once. Those that do exhibit indicators early on serve as 'canary birds'
for all others. This symptomatic warning 'issued' by these early onset,
and hapless, victims can allow for an 'early warning' (barely sufficient)
allowing the salvaging of those others around them. A strong natural immune
system tends to assure that you will still be asymptomatic, and treatable,
at that time.
-
- As with any threat, avoidance is the
best response. If one can avoid anthrax expsoure then so is the threat
of death avoided. Unfortunately an R.S.V.P. is unlikely. In the case of
anthrax the next best is pharmaceutical antibiotics if treatment begins
early enough. Vaccines can offer protection if indeed it is the proper
type. Vaccines are great in that they are ready and waiting (on 'stand-by')
automatically in the event of any exposure. Antibiotics on the other hand
must be taken pro-actively at the proper time; not too early nor too late.
Selection of the proper vaccine is very important here. There are three
types of anthrax vaccines in this world. One is made by a Michigan firm,
another by Colorado Serum, and yet another by the old Soviet Regime. The
first two are the only ones available to Americans.
-
- The 'Michigan' anthrax vaccine has been
in the news lately as being subject to FDA raids. They found expired effective
dating and contaminated conditions and other questionable factors. It
is believed by many that GWS was introduced into GI bloodstreams by vaccine
contamination. There are many serious researchers who point to the suspicious
statistics that only those who received the vaccine later subcombed to
GWS. It can be demonstrated that a mycoplasma infectious agent causes
GWS identical symptoms and responds to treatment similalry. On the other
hand the Colorado Serum vaccine has been used for the last thirty years
on both livestock and humans (in Africa) with no contrary indications.
The Colorado veterinary vaccine has no FDA approval and thus no medically
licensed individual is allowed to administer it to you depsite its beneficial
use in humans in S. Africa. My personal and direct experience with it
has been positive as well.
-
- Today many medical facilties will medicate
for an expected prognosis while yet waiting for the results of specific
lab identification. Valuable time may be lost while waiting so they deliberately
'jump the gun' if the symptoms point to a propable cause. Thus it is Not
unreasonable to use a Physicians' Desk Referenced treatment, or antibiotic,
to combat a suspected anthrax outbreak, or similar. Some antibiotics are
narrow spectrum while others may be more broad spectrum, i.e., being effctive
against several different pathogens. For example, one may be effctive
against cholera but not at all against The Plague. Also some antibiotics
may be bacteria killers and others may be merely bacteria stoppers, i.e.,
they stop bacteria growth and/or reproduction. This is the reason that
there is an occasional controversy as to which antibiotic to use. The
PDR will list the bacteriocidal treatments first but these are usually
more narrow spectrum and each will be effective against only certain agents.
Terramycin, on the other hand, is a frequently overlooked bacteriostatic
pharmaceutical that is very effective against a broad range of pathogens.
Agricultural antibiotics are just as effective when the pharmaceutcal
ones are not available. Package labels will indicate proper dosage amounts
for the liability protection of the manufacturer.
-
- I am not a credentialed medical professional
but I am associated with a defensive biowar and disaster recovery consulting
firm. One should exercise great care in selecting one's medical professional
as few understand pathogens in this type of application.
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