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American Family Physician Oct 2021Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins, or fungi with the goal of causing panic, mass casualties, or severe economic disruption. From 1981... (Review)
Review
Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins, or fungi with the goal of causing panic, mass casualties, or severe economic disruption. From 1981 to 2018, there were 37 bioterrorist attacks worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers as category A agents that are the greatest risk to national security. An emerging infectious disease (e.g., novel respiratory virus) may also be used as a biological agent. Clinicians may be the first to recognize a bioterrorism-related illness by noting an unusual presentation, location, timing, or severity of disease. Public health authorities should be notified when a biological agent is recognized or suspected. Treatment includes proper isolation and administration of antimicrobial or antitoxin agents in consultation with regional medical authorities and the CDC. Vaccinations for biological agents are not routinely administered except for smallpox, anthrax, and Ebola disease for people at high risk of exposure. The American Academy of Family Physicians, the CDC, and other organizations provide bioterrorism training and response resources for clinicians and communities. Clinicians should be aware of bioterrorism resources.
Topics: Biological Warfare Agents; Bioterrorism; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; Humans; United States; Vaccines
PubMed: 34652097
DOI: No ID Found -
Best Practice & Research. Clinical... Oct 2021Vaccination during pregnancy is important for active immunity of the mother against serious infectious diseases, and also for passive immunity of the neonate to... (Review)
Review
Vaccination during pregnancy is important for active immunity of the mother against serious infectious diseases, and also for passive immunity of the neonate to infectious diseases with high morbidity and mortality. As a rule, live vaccines are contraindicated during pregnancy as they may cause fetal viremia/bacteremia. Inactivated vaccines are generally safe. Vaccines safe to be administered to all pregnant ladies are tetanus toxoid (TT; tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) and Flu vaccines. During pre-pregnancy counselling, vaccination for MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) should be offered, with an advice to avoid pregnancy for a month. All pregnant mothers should receive TT and Tdap vaccination during the third trimester. Flu vaccine can be given to all mothers at any gestation, and if not offered during pregnancy, it can be given postpartum. Vaccinations that should be offered to women if at high risk of exposure are for hepatitis A and B, pneumococcal, meningococcal, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis (JE), polio, typhoid, and cholera infections. Vaccines to be given only for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are smallpox, rabies, and anthrax. Postpartum women should be offered human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. If not immunized earlier, they should be offered MMR, Tdap, and Flu vaccines. Future vaccines being developed are for malaria, Zika virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), group B streptococcus, CMV, and COVID-19 (SARS-Cov-2).
Topics: COVID-19; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Postpartum Period; Pregnancy; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination; Vaccines; Zika Virus; Zika Virus Infection
PubMed: 33773923
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2021.02.002 -
Biomolecules Apr 2022Louis Pasteur is the most internationally known French scientist. He discovered molecular chirality, and he contributed to the understanding of the process of... (Review)
Review
Louis Pasteur is the most internationally known French scientist. He discovered molecular chirality, and he contributed to the understanding of the process of fermentation, helping brewers and winemakers to improve their beverages. He proposed a process, known as pasteurization, for the sterilization of wines. He established the germ theory of infectious diseases that allowed Joseph Lister to develop his antiseptic practice in surgery. He solved the problem of silkworm disease, although he had refuted the idea of Antoine Béchamp, who first considered it was a microbial infection. He created four vaccines (fowl cholera, anthrax, pig erysipelas, and rabies) in the paths of his precursors, Henri Toussaint (anthrax vaccine) and Pierre Victor Galtier (rabies vaccine). He generalized the word "vaccination" coined by Richard Dunning, Edward Jenner's friend. Robert Koch, his most famous opponent, pointed out the great ambiguity of Pasteur's approach to preparing his vaccines. Analysis of his laboratory notebooks has allowed historians to discern the differences between the legend built by his hagiographers and reality. In this review, we revisit his career, his undeniable achievements, and tell the truth about a hero who made every effort to build his own fame.
Topics: Animals; Fermentation; Swine; Vaccination; Vaccines; Wine
PubMed: 35454184
DOI: 10.3390/biom12040596 -
JAAD Case Reports Sep 2020
PubMed: 32875038
DOI: 10.1016/j.jdcr.2020.06.035 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) May 2020has been identified as a potential military and bioterror agent as it is relatively simple to produce, with spores that are highly resilient to degradation in the... (Review)
Review
has been identified as a potential military and bioterror agent as it is relatively simple to produce, with spores that are highly resilient to degradation in the environment and easily dispersed. These characteristics are important in describing how anthrax could be used as a weapon, but they are also important in understanding and determining appropriate prevention and treatment of anthrax disease. Today, anthrax disease is primarily enzootic and found mostly in the developing world, where it is still associated with considerable mortality and morbidity in humans and livestock. This review article describes the spectrum of disease caused by anthrax and the various prevention and treatment options. Specifically we discuss the following; (1) clinical manifestations of anthrax disease (cutaneous, gastrointestinal, inhalational and intravenous-associated); (2) immunology of the disease; (3) an overview of animal models used in research; (4) the current World Health Organization and U.S. Government guidelines for investigation, management, and prophylaxis; (5) unique regulatory approaches to licensure and approval of anthrax medical countermeasures; (6) the history of vaccination and pre-exposure prophylaxis; (7) post-exposure prophylaxis and disease management; (8) treatment of symptomatic disease through the use of antibiotics and hyperimmune or monoclonal antibody-based antitoxin therapies; and (9) the current landscape of next-generation product candidates under development.
PubMed: 32408493
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9050370 -
Cureus Mar 2023In this paper, we reveal the anthrax weaponization in the Soviet Union and its impact on biowarfare research, technology, and public health that resulted in the... (Review)
Review
In this paper, we reveal the anthrax weaponization in the Soviet Union and its impact on biowarfare research, technology, and public health that resulted in the development of the first Soviet Anthrax vaccine and the subsequent vaccination of animals and humans en masse. We assume that there are cases that a biowarfare technology was incorporated into the civilian industry and benefited public health. However, the legacy of bioweapons today still poses an asymmetric threat to public health and safety.
PubMed: 37123719
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.36800 -
Vaccines Feb 2024Vaccination against is the best preventive measure against the development of deadly anthrax disease in the event of exposure to anthrax either as a bioweapon or in its... (Review)
Review
Vaccination against is the best preventive measure against the development of deadly anthrax disease in the event of exposure to anthrax either as a bioweapon or in its naturally occurring form. Anthrax vaccines, however, have historically been plagued with controversy, particularly related to their safety. Fortunately, recent improvements in anthrax vaccines have been shown to confer protection with reduced short-term safety concerns, although questions about long-term safety remain. Here, we (a) review recent and ongoing advances in anthrax vaccine development, (b) emphasize the need for thorough characterization of current (and future) vaccines, (c) bring to focus the importance of host immunogenetics as the ultimate determinant of successful antibody production and protection, and (d) discuss the need for the systematic, active, and targeted monitoring of vaccine recipients for possible Chronic Multisymptom Illness (CMI).
PubMed: 38400142
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12020159 -
BMC Microbiology Mar 2021Anthrax and smallpox are high-risk infectious diseases, and considered as potential agents for bioterrorism. To develop an effective countermeasure for these diseases,...
BACKGROUND
Anthrax and smallpox are high-risk infectious diseases, and considered as potential agents for bioterrorism. To develop an effective countermeasure for these diseases, we constructed a bivalent vaccine against both anthrax and smallpox by integrating a gene encoding protective antigen (PA) of Bacillus anthracis to the genome of the attenuated vaccinia virus strain, KVAC103.
RESULTS
Immunization with this bivalent vaccine induced antibodies against both PA and vaccinia virus in a mouse model. We also observed that the efficacy of this vaccine can be enhanced by combined immunization with immunoadjuvant-expressing KVAC103. Mouse groups co-immunized with PA-expressing KVAC103 and either interleukin-15 (IL-15) or cholera toxin subunit A (CTA1)-expressing KVAC103 showed increased anti-PA IgG titer and survival rate against B. anthracis spore challenge compared to the group immunized with PA-expressing KVAC103 alone.
CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrated that the attenuated smallpox vaccine KVAC103 is an available platform for a multivalent vaccine and co-immunization of immunoadjuvants can improve vaccine performance.
Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animals; Anthrax; Antibodies, Bacterial; Antibodies, Viral; Bacillus anthracis; Mice; Smallpox; Vaccines, Attenuated; Vaccines, Combined; Vaccines, Synthetic; Vaccinia virus
PubMed: 33685392
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-021-02121-5