ANTHRAX 04 OCT 90

File: 970101_sep96_decls30_0006.txt
Page: 0006
Total Pages: 7

Subject: ANTHRAX  04 OCT 90                                              

Unit: VAR. BUMED  

Parent Organization: BUMED       

Box  ID: BX303902

Folder Title: NERVE AGENTS - A BRIEF REFERENCE                                                                

Document Number:          3

Folder Seq  #:         13


                                        UNCLASSIFIED


            distinguish botulism (B) from nerve agent (NA) and atropine (A)

            poisoning. This can be accomplished clinically. Patients with

            botulism usually have normal mental status while those with NA

            and A do not. Though dilated meiotic pupils may also be observed

            in A, NA causes mioais as opposed to the melosis of B. Ptosis

            and EOM paralysis is unique to B and if present helps to

            distinguish it from A and NA. Motor signs are absent in A while

            the paralysis of B is flaccid compared with the rigid paralysis

            of NA. NA causes excessive saliva-lion and incontinence while A

            and B results in the reverse. Therapy is supportive and aimed at

            providing adequate ventilation in the face of respiratory muscle

            paralysis. An antitoxin is currently under development but is

            not available.


                 Staphlcoccal en@@erotoxin B (SEB)


                     This taxin may be delivered by aerosol resulting in high

            fever, nausea and vomiting, and the adult respiratory distress

            syndrome (ARDS) within hours after exposure. Less fulmina,,it

            cases cannot be distinguished from a viral gastroenter'@tis but a

            clustering of cases over a single day might provide evidence of

            biowarfare. Therapy is purely supportive there is no

            prophylaxis available.


                 Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin


                     This toxin is a phospholipase C which is potent

            arachnidor.ic- derived chemical mediator which causes severe ARDS

            when delivered by aerosol. It is also associated with liver

            damage, hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia not observed in

            cases of SEB-induced ARDS. Other than ventilatory support there

            is not available treatment of prophylaxis.



              UNCLASSIFIED

Document 7 f:/Week-44/BX303902/NERVE AGENTS - A BRIEF REFERENCE/anthrax 04 oct 90:12249609070331
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-44
Box ID = BX303902
Unit = VAR. BUMED
Parent Organization = BUMED
Folder Title = NERVE AGENTS - A BRIEF REFERENCE
Folder Seq # = 13
Subject = ANTHRAX 04 OCT 90
Document Seq # = 3
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 24-DEC-1996