Reasonable Rascal
04-22-02, 22:28
Anthrax patients' ailments linger: fatigue, memory loss afflict most survivors of October attacks
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Six months after inhaling anthrax spores, several of the mail workers who survived the deadly disease have yet to make a full recovery and are experiencing serious fatigue and memory loss. In interviews with 5 of the 6 survivors of inhalational anthrax, 4 spoke of frequent exhaustion. Only one person, a 74 year old Florida man, has returned to work. But others said they require daily naps after the slightest exertion. They and their
families say they have also noticed marked problems with memory and concentration.
"The question is, why aren't these people back to normal?" said Mark Galbraith, an infectious disease specialist in Virginia who is treating one of the victims. The extent of the problems has highlighted for Galbraith
and other physicians how little is known by the medical community about this illness and the potency of the toxins.
From Florida to Connecticut, 11 Americans contracted the inhaled form of anthrax after a rash of terrorist mailings to politicians and media outlets. Of the 11, 5 died, including 2 postal workers from the Brentwood
Road NE mail processing center in Washington. The surviving 6 were treated and survived; of those, 3 live in the Washington area.
Bradley Perkins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta said in a telephone interview this week that CDC is aware of "complaints and concerns" among some of the inhalation survivors. CDC is
not currently conducting any systematic study of their health, he said, except for collecting blood samples to develop better vaccines. "We're just now approaching the kind of time period where one would normally expect a full recovery," he said. But "a number of survivors have not returned to
their normal daily activities. We have concern about the level of their recovery," he added, and the CDC is "actively discussing" whether to conduct a formal study of their symptoms.
Perkins said memory loss and fatigue could be results of the infection. Anthrax produces toxins, "and some could have impact on nerve tissues," he said. It is also possible that survivors are experiencing some form of
post-traumatic stress syndrome, he added. Until the outbreak last year, inhalational anthrax was almost always fatal. Consequently, little is known about the experience of survivors and whether the infection has long term effects.
The recent inhalational cases are unlike the other few dozen recorded in the United States in the last half-century, most of which were contracted by workers exposed to contaminated animal hides.
Medical experts know that severe illness can have unexpected emotional consequences in addition to physical effects. That could be particularly true in this case, because the anthrax attacks were an act of terrorism
accompanied by intense media attention. Also, no one has been arrested in the attacks, which may cause the survivors more stress.
Unlike the families of those who died or were injured in the 11 Sep 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, the anthrax survivors and their families have received limited or no financial assistance from private charities.
[Byline: Lena H Sun]
--
George A Robertson, PhD
WYETH VACCINES
PO Box 304
Marietta, PA 17547-0304
717.426.6719
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
---------------------------------------------
Fair use for education.
----------------------------------
Six months after inhaling anthrax spores, several of the mail workers who survived the deadly disease have yet to make a full recovery and are experiencing serious fatigue and memory loss. In interviews with 5 of the 6 survivors of inhalational anthrax, 4 spoke of frequent exhaustion. Only one person, a 74 year old Florida man, has returned to work. But others said they require daily naps after the slightest exertion. They and their
families say they have also noticed marked problems with memory and concentration.
"The question is, why aren't these people back to normal?" said Mark Galbraith, an infectious disease specialist in Virginia who is treating one of the victims. The extent of the problems has highlighted for Galbraith
and other physicians how little is known by the medical community about this illness and the potency of the toxins.
From Florida to Connecticut, 11 Americans contracted the inhaled form of anthrax after a rash of terrorist mailings to politicians and media outlets. Of the 11, 5 died, including 2 postal workers from the Brentwood
Road NE mail processing center in Washington. The surviving 6 were treated and survived; of those, 3 live in the Washington area.
Bradley Perkins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta said in a telephone interview this week that CDC is aware of "complaints and concerns" among some of the inhalation survivors. CDC is
not currently conducting any systematic study of their health, he said, except for collecting blood samples to develop better vaccines. "We're just now approaching the kind of time period where one would normally expect a full recovery," he said. But "a number of survivors have not returned to
their normal daily activities. We have concern about the level of their recovery," he added, and the CDC is "actively discussing" whether to conduct a formal study of their symptoms.
Perkins said memory loss and fatigue could be results of the infection. Anthrax produces toxins, "and some could have impact on nerve tissues," he said. It is also possible that survivors are experiencing some form of
post-traumatic stress syndrome, he added. Until the outbreak last year, inhalational anthrax was almost always fatal. Consequently, little is known about the experience of survivors and whether the infection has long term effects.
The recent inhalational cases are unlike the other few dozen recorded in the United States in the last half-century, most of which were contracted by workers exposed to contaminated animal hides.
Medical experts know that severe illness can have unexpected emotional consequences in addition to physical effects. That could be particularly true in this case, because the anthrax attacks were an act of terrorism
accompanied by intense media attention. Also, no one has been arrested in the attacks, which may cause the survivors more stress.
Unlike the families of those who died or were injured in the 11 Sep 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, the anthrax survivors and their families have received limited or no financial assistance from private charities.
[Byline: Lena H Sun]
--
George A Robertson, PhD
WYETH VACCINES
PO Box 304
Marietta, PA 17547-0304
717.426.6719
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
---------------------------------------------
Fair use for education.