Vaccine link raised in U.S troops' deaths

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash2.htm

The U.S. Army should look at whether the anthrax vaccine is behind the unexplained cluster of pneumonia cases among soldiers in Iraq, according to the co-author of a government-sponsored study that last year found the vaccine was the "possible or probable" cause of pneumonia in two soldiers.

Dr. John L. Sever of George Washington University Medical School told United Press International Tuesday that he expects the military to consider the anthrax vaccine, among other possibilities, as it investigates pneumonia among soldiers in and around Iraq, where troops have been widely vaccinated against anthrax.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday it is investigating 100 cases of pneumonia among soldiers in Iraq and southwestern Asia. Two have died. Fifteen have had to be placed on respirators.

"As physicians, I would think they would be looking at all possible causes. I would think vaccines would be part of that," said Sever, a medical professor at George Washington who was one of six authors of the study. Col. Robert DeFraites from the Army Surgeon General's office told reporters at the Pentagon briefing Tuesday that biological warfare -- including smallpox or anthrax -- was unlikely to be the cause of the pneumonia. He did not mention vaccines as a possible cause, and the issue was not raised by reporters.

--snip--

Sever said the anthrax vaccine study, printed in the May 2002 issue of Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, found that the vaccine was the "possible or probable" cause of pneumonia among two soldiers. The Department of Health and Human Services convened the group, called the Anthrax Vaccine Expert Committee, which studied 602 reports of possible reactions to the vaccine among nearly 400,000 troops who received it, Sever said.

Yes I know it's Drudge, but it's still news and we know some troops have objected to this vaccine.

[whathappened]

1. yes , lets have a look see

all we got so far is maybe the dust over there is the cause , wow , these people don't even want ya to thinka bout the truth anymore , more cover ups in progress people

[seemslikeadream]

2. Letter to the President of the United States

Dear Mr. President: We are writing you because we are concerned that American military personal serving in Iraq are at risk.

Of all the veterans groups in this country, I believe we, the veterans of Gulf War 1, are without a doubt the most saddened by this very disturbing news. As you are well aware, Gulf War Veterns have suffered for many years as a result of illnesses that have yet to be fully explained

Twelve years after the first Gulf War, sound scientific evidence clearly shows that these illnesses that we suffer are directly linked to exposures that occured during service to our country. Yet Gulf War veterans face tremendous obstacles in obtaining care, treatment and compensation from the United States Government and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

We were there for you, Mr. President, when you campaigned around the country as a candidate. We heard you loud and clear when you said you were going to address the Gulf War veterans' issues of access to healthcare, benefits and compensation. We heard you tell veterans of all generations, "Veterans Come First."

The whole letter is at www.ngwrc.org

[seventhson]

3. It's DU!!! The "other" DU: Depleted Uranium

It mutates the bacteria and lowers the immune system. I have had friends die from this shit. SARS is, IMO, caused by a leaky nuke plant in Guangdong Province. I spent 8 days in an infectious disease ward under quarantine after swimming and eating fish from near the effluent pipes at a nuke plant and my kids and wife got sick too.

See radiation.org

Sakharov predicted this in the 1950's causing the Soviets to label him a "problem"

[treepig]

6. other threads currently on DU about DU

health effects - your friends almost certainly did not die from DU:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=50976&mesg_id=50976

http://www.democraticunderground.com/duforum/DCForumID29/2542.html

environmental levels of radiation do not lower the immune system, in fact they may increase it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=115&topic_id=370&mesg_id=370

your family was more likely poisoned by mercury (or other heavy metals) or became infected by a water-borne pathogen - if you want to be concerned about release of radioactive substances as a result of power generation, burning coal is perhaps what should interest you:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=115&topic_id=169&mesg_id=169

[alaine]

8. "environmental levels of radiation do not lower the

immune system, in fact they may increase it"

I guess this must be why so many people came died from leukemia in those five years after Nagasaki. (Gotta love all those extra white blood cells.)

Either you have an agenda or you just really love the idea of glowing in the dark.

[treepig]

9. there was an atomic bomb exploded at nagasaki

(were you aware of this fact?) that led to levels of radiation much, much higher than the examples of the 'environmental levels' given in the links in my previous posts.

[Paschall]

4. I don't understand

The troops must have gotten these vaccines before being deployed. And they're coming down with pneumonia NOW?

Here's the May 2002 issue of "Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety" that discusses the anthrax vaccine study. Maybe some medical specialists can have a look and let us know what they think.

ON EDIT: The articles are pay-per-view, but the abstracts are free. :sigh:

[treepig]

7. hey, no fair!

you cited actual scientific research papers, not somebody's opinions masquerading as science on google!

actually why i'm posting here is to let anyone know that if they want a pdf of any of these articles, let me know and i can pass it along.

[w4rma]

5. Awesome! Drudge is bringing this *important* information up!

Will wonders ever cease!


Unexplained Illnesses Among Desert Storm Veterans
© 1995, Archives of Internal Medicine

Document Dated: Feb-13-1995

Enclosed is the article to print for the March 10, 1995 videoconference: "Undiagnosed Illnesses in Persian Gulf Veterans: An Update and Discussion of New VA Compensation Regulations" This article was published in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" (Volume 155, Feb 13, 1995, pages 262-268).
...
Two non-live vaccines, botulinum toxoid and anthrax, also have been postulated to be causes of unexplained illnesses. The botulinum vaccine is an unlikely factor because it was given only to 8,000 troops, and these troops, which are being closely followed, have not reported problems with unexplained illnesses. The FDA approved anthrax vaccine was given to a much larger number of troops, approximately 150,000, but to date no association has been found between this vaccine and unexplained illnesses. Anthrax vaccines have been used for several decades in high-risk populations without any major adverse effects.

The possibility that chronic fatigue and debility could result from the combination of vaccinations that Gulf troops were given over a short period of time, rather than any single vaccine, has been suggested. However, long-term effects have not been observed among multiply immunized foreign travelers, U.S. military recruits who routinely receive eight or more vaccinations during induction, and laboratory workers who have received multiple vaccinations, including botulinum toxoid and anthrax vaccines.
...
http://www.gulfweb.org/doc_show.cfm?ID=5