-Caveat Lector- Anthrax Shot May Be Factor in Death Army National Guard Sgt. Audrey Towne fills a needle with anthrax vaccine in Bismarck, N.D., Jan. 3. The death of a BioPort worker may be connected to the company’s manufacture of the anthrax vaccine. (Will Kincaid/AP Photo) The Associated Press L A N S I N G, Mich., Sept. 28 — A medical examiner says BioPort Corp.’s anthrax vaccine may have contributed to the July death of one of the workers with the troubled company. But the company’s chief executive officer, Bob Kramer, said in a statement released this morning that he doesn’t believe the death and vaccine are connected. BioPort is the sole producer of the U.S. military’s vaccine to combat the biological weapon of Anthrax. In July, the Pentagon slowed down its controversial program of inoculating all military personnel because of a shortage of the vaccine. Some military personnel have refused the shots, saying the vaccine is unsafe. “Those of us who work here are confident that there is no connection between his death and the anthrax vaccine,” Kramer said. He pointed out the death certificate states that the immediate cause of death was ventricular arrhythmia and said there is no reference to any underlying cause. ‘Inflammatory Response’ The deceased, Richard Dunn, had worked for BioPort and its Michigan state-owned predecessor since 1992. He cared for and monitored test animals and was required to take the same vaccine given to hundreds of thousands of U.S. military personnel. Dunn received 11 doses, the last one in April. An August autopsy showed Dunn, 61, had an “inflammatory response” to the vaccine throughout his body, Ionia County Chief Medical Examiner Robert Joyce said. Joyce did not perform the autopsy, but as the county’s medical examiner he is responsible for recording results. BioPort bought the former state-owned Michigan Biologic Products Institute in 1998. Because it has yet to win federal approval of its renovated labs, the company has been unable to make new vaccine. Instead, BioPort has relied on vaccines made when the state owned the lab. Earlier this month, it recalled three of its products — including some doses of the military’s anthrax vaccine — because of labeling and contamination concerns. Going Broke BioPort already is struggling to survive financially. Despite an $18 million advance in 1999 from the U.S. military — its largest customer — the company told the Pentagon early this year that it faced a possible cash shortfall of up to $18 million for 2000. Since then, BioPort has received additional Pentagon money to stay afloat. Joyce would not release the autopsy results Wednesday. BioPort officials say they also were denied a copy of the autopsy Wednesday. BioPort officials said Dunn’s death certificate indicated he died of a heart condition, and they hadn’t been told the autopsy indicated otherwise. “This is information we absolutely need to look into and don’t take lightly,” BioPort spokeswoman Kelly Rossman McKinney said. “We’re puzzled and stunned. We’re going to do everything we can to find out what’s going on here.” Unprecedented Reaction? BioPort said it contacted the Pentagon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and vaccine experts after receiving the information from Joyce. Company officials expect tissue samples taken from Dunn to be turned over to national medical authorities for further review. Workers at the north Lansing labs have taken the vaccine for 30 years. More than half of BioPort’s 210 workers have received the six-dose vaccine, which also requires an annual booster. The most serious reaction among employees has been a severe headache, said Condalee Decker, the company’s nurse. There have been no reports of reactions similar to Dunn’s, even to a lesser degree. A month after Dunn received his 11th dose, he complained of fatigue and swelling, said Mike Tanner, BioPort’s personnel director. The company’s doctors determined his symptoms had no connection to the vaccine, Tanner said. The military reports that 487,098 people had received 1.9 million doses of the vaccine through last week. About 400 military personnel, worried about the impact on their health, have resigned or faced disciplinary action rather than take the vaccine. Fewer than one half of 1 percent of the people who have taken the vaccine, 1,152 people, reported adverse reactions. A U.S. Health and Human Services review confirmed that 592 of the cases were certainly or probably caused by the anthrax vaccine. They classified 123 of the cases as serious, all due to allergic reactions. There were no fatalities among those cases. The military and the FDA say the anthrax vaccine is safe, with no more side effects than many common vaccines. The Pentagon says more than 1,500 vaccinated lab workers at a research and development center at Maryland’s Fort Detrick have been tracked for 20 years, with no unexplained symptoms. Critics say a long-term study on the effects of the vaccine is needed to make sure it is safe. A letter signed by 35 members of Congress in May urged Defense Secretary William Cohen to suspend the program until a long-term study was done. Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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