Are we prepared if the anthrax outbreak reaches Europe?

2023-12-16 13:02:31

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of a high risk of expansion of the anthrax outbreak declared in Zambia. Since November 20, 2023, they have been four deaths and 684 cases confirmed suspicious.

There is, always according to the WHO, a ‘considerably high’ risk of crossing borders given the frequent movement of animals and people.

And they say that the figures already exceed those of the last large-scale epidemic in the African country, which was registered in 2011 with a total of 511 suspected cases. Epidemiologically relevant outbreaks have been rare: now, however, cases in humans have increased to numbers never before seen in that African state.

Anthrax is a disease caused by a bacteria called Bacillus anthracis. It is a zoonosis (a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans).

It is a skin infection that often involves a group of hair follicles. The infected material forms a lump, which occurs deep in the skin and usually contains pus. The bacteria spreads easily because it is transmitted by spores.

Zambia is a country with high levels of poverty and health infrastructure, as well as the availability of vaccines and medications It is scarce. All of this contributes to the fact that it is not easy to contain these outbreaks.

And of course, when a new epidemic threat appears (we are going to end up getting used to it until we lose fear of it) it is time to know what treatments are available to deal with it.

I don’t know if you remember, but in 2001, after the attacks against the Twin Towers, there was an alarm due to the spread of letters with the dreaded anthrax bacillus that some alleged terrorists were using to commit attacks.

At that time, it appeared as an “antidote” to prevent anthrax. Cipro antibiotic (ciproflxacin) from Bayer. After the first cases of anthrax, the United States government wanted to buy a billion tablets of Cipro and Bayer increased their production. But the price of the tablet that the consortium was selling to United States Department of Health It was $1.77.

By supplying one billion tablets, profits for Bayer would be $1.77 billion. A great deal, considering that the production price of a Cipro tablet is a few cents. Washington refused to pay that price.

The confrontation did not take long and the government of George Bush made a threat similar to what the government of George Bush He made a feint similar to what they do many countries and not just developing ones like Brazil, South Africa o India, issue compulsory licenses for that drug, which is a legal practice. That is, nationalize the medicine for public health reasons.

Philip Mimkesmember of Coordination against Bayer threats (Bayer Hazard Coordination) -non-governmental organization that monitors the operations of this pharmaceutical company-, told the story of that negotiation.

Of course, many years have passed since that, and today ciprofloxacin is a reviled medication, since it is a fluoroquinolone and the Spanish Government is currently campaigning against them:

Health warns of the danger of some widely used antibiotics, such as fluoroquinolones

Anthrax has its dangers… and so do some of its treatments. The medications available today for anthrax are various antibiotics and antitoxins.

There is also a vaccine called Biothrax.

Only one, and it is a very old drug since it was authorized in 1970 as a prevention for people at high risk of exposure to the pathogen, especially workers in biosafety laboratories.

The indication was expanded in 2015, in full alert for the jihadist terrorism after the Paris attacks, so it will also be possible apply to people who have already suffered an attack.

What are the risks of anthrax vaccine? Vaccines, like any medicine, could cause a serious problem, like a fatal allergic reaction. Anthrax is a very serious disease, and the risk of the vaccine causing serious harm is extremely small. As with any vaccine, other serious problems have been reported.

That’s as far as humans are concerned, because then there is Antravax, for animals. According to its technical sheet, care must be taken in its application because it can contaminate humans by carrying the attenuated virus. It contains aluminum to enhance its effect (a substance dangerous to health), and one in ten animals, cows and sheep, suffer from side effects.

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