Side Effects of Anthrax Injections

Bacillus anthracis is a rod-shaped bacterium that causes an infectious, usually lethal, disease known as anthrax. The cure for anthrax depends upon a number of factors but usually includes the use of antibiotics. There is a vaccine to prevent anthrax but, according to the Mayo Clinic, the vaccine is not 100 percent effective.

• Anthrax is cause by bacteria

Cause

• Anthrax bacteria create spores which can infect humans upon inhalation or by eating or having contact with an animal that is infected.

Types

• There are three types of anthrax: skin anthrax, gastrointestinal anthrax and inhalation anthrax. The latter is the most deadly form. According to scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles, nine out of 10 patients with anthrax infections in the lungs will die.

Prevention

• The prevention of anthrax requires six injections of the anthrax vaccine, administered over an 18-month period. According to Meryl Nass, M.D., and an anthrax expert, about 20 percent of people who receive the anthrax vaccine will develop "chronic medical problems."

Common Side Effects

• Side effects of the anthrax injection can range from mild to severe. Mild reactions include headaches, muscle aches, a lump at the injection site and nausea.

Less Common Side Effects

• More severe, but less common reactions include seizure, encephalitis, facial palsy, and aseptic meningitis.

Considerations

• According to recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, changing the manner in which the vaccine is injected greatly reduces many of the more common topical side effects. Previously the injection was administered into the fat, right under the skin. Intramuscular injections showed a decrease in itching, redness and injection site lumps.