Letter from Rostker's Office/Anthrax

[Guest guest]

>From: <bsmith@...>

>X-Lotus-FromDomain: OSAGWI

>donmaur@...

>Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 18:34:31 -0500

>Subject: Rutherford Institute

>

>

>

>

>

> - att1.htm

>

>Response:

>Dear Mrs. :

>

> Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the anthrax vaccine.

>This is Ivory, and I am responding on behalf of Dr. Bernard Rostker,

>the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses.

>

> Vaccines for viruses usually use some sort of tissue culture, since

>viruses grow in cells. Vaccines for bacteria use some sort of nutrient

>broth or agar to grow the bacteria.

>

> Anthrax vaccine is known officially to the FDA as " Anthrax Vaccine

>Adsorbed. " This vaccine is a sterile product made from filtrates of

>microaerophilic cultures of an avirulent nonencapsulated strain of

>Bacillus anthracis. This means that the vaccine is the solution that

>results after filtration of a culture of anthrax bacteria. If you?ve ever

>seen percolated coffee, you know that liquid coffee is the filtrate and

>the coffee grounds are what is left in the filter. These bacteria are grown

>

>with very little oxygen (microaerophilic conditions). The bacteria cannot

>cause disease themselves (they are avirulent). They are from a strain

>of anthrax that does not have a capsule around the bacterial cells

>(they are nonencapsulated).

>

> Adsorbed refers to the fact that the vaccine is deposited on the

>surface of ( " adsorbed to " ) a chemical called aluminum hydroxide.

>Aluminum hydroxide is added to the vaccine to increase the amount of

>antibodies that the body makes in response to vaccination.

>

> Anthrax vaccine is a cell-free filtrate vaccine, which means that it

>contains no whole bacteria, neither live nor dead. Therefore, it is

>impossible to contract the disease from the anthrax vaccine. The final

>product contains no more than 2.4 mg aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3)

>per 0.5 ml dose, equivalent to 0.83 mg elemental aluminum. Formaldehyde,

>in a final concentration not to exceed 0.02 percent (two parts per 10,000)

>and

>benzethonium chloride, 0.0025 percent (25 parts per 100,000) are added as

>preservatives.

>

> If you have more questions about the anthrax vaccine program, they

>can be answered by the staff of the Anthrax Vaccination Immunization

>Program (AVIP). You can find the AVIP website at www.anthrax.osd.mil.

>

> Thank you for writing. We hope this answers your questions.

>