Today (12/21/01) is the first day of winter and it seems like just yesterday we were seeing daily articles on the mail's being purposefully contaminated with anthrax spores. No new cases of anthrax have been reported since late November and it looks like the immediate crisis is over. However, we as a people now know that we are not immune to terrorists' insane and unwanted attempts to throw our way of life into disarray.
There are still many issues that we don't have answers to. Decontamination of the post offices and the Congressional offices has been less successful than initially thought. Now the federal government is offering the anthrax vaccine to postal workers and Congressional office workers.
There is a lot of debate over whether people should get this vaccine. A number of people are very frustrated, and rightfully so. They want more information concerning this vaccine. Will taking it cause certain health problems? Is this vaccine even effective in protecting people already exposed to anthrax? Will 60 days of taking the antibiotic Cipro (Ciprofloxacin) be long enough to prevent pulmonary anthrax in these people?
To tell you the truth, no one really knows the answers to these questions. We don't know because anthrax is a very rare disease. Epidemics of anthrax don't normally occur. The vaccine is a relatively new vaccine and it has only been used to immunize persons in the military. So, what I am saying is that the officials are making their best educated guesses at what should be done.
As a result, widely differing ideas as to what should be done are being expressed. This can cause worry and frustration. One way I deal with the unknown is to get more information. What can I do if I get a suspicious package in the mail or see someone doing something out of the ordinary? Knowing what you can do does dispel fear. Remember, the terrorists want fear and panic. This we don't want to give them.
The CDC has created a website that has a lot of anthrax information in it. Click here, it can help dispel some of the fears. They also have released a set of guidelines for protecting personnel in clinical laboratories from anthrax contamination. In those guidelines was some information I thought would help anyone faced with a suspicious package in their mailbox.
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