In the wake of reports of people in Florida and New York having contracted anthrax, local health-care officials have been fielding a number of calls regarding the disease.

Monday, October 15, 2001

In the wake of reports of people in Florida and New York having contracted anthrax, local health-care officials have been fielding a number of calls regarding the disease.

&uot;Some people have coughs and they’re concerned it may be more than that,&uot; said Lois Ahern, director of Freeborn County Public Health. &uot;But this is the season for colds. There is nothing to indicate that anyone in Minnesota has been exposed to anthrax.&uot;

She added that if people are concerned about symptoms, they need to discuss them with their health care provider.

Ahern said people have been asking whether they can be vaccinated against anthrax. She said that while there is a vaccine for anthrax, availability is limited to the military and those who might come in contact with naturally occurring anthrax in their work. Physicians do not have this vaccine and cannot obtain it. Information from the Minnesota Department of Health states that immunization for anthrax is not one shot, but a series of six shots over 18 months, as well as yearly boosters.

Tammy Williams of Albert Lea Medical Center Infection Control said that while anthrax can be treated with antibiotics, people should not self-administer antibiotics to ward off the disease. &uot;It’s unnecessary and can be harmful,&uot; she said, adding using antibiotics indiscriminately can lead to antibiotic resistance by other bacteria.

Ahern stressed that anthrax is not something that is spread from person to person. Symptoms of the disease depend on the route of exposure – skin, gastrointestinal tract, or lungs. The Minnesota Department of Health states that in a bioterrorism event, the type of anthrax that might occur is inhalation anthrax (lungs) in which spores of the bacteria are inhaled.

Usually symptoms start to show up within seven days (two to five days, on average) of exposure. In this situation, the disease begins with cold or influenza-type symptoms (cold, fever, muscle aches). After a couple of days, the symptoms quickly worsen with the development of breathing problems, and eventually the body goes into shock. Inhalation anthrax is usually fatal. Early treatment offers the only hope.

The case in New York was the most common, or cutaneous type of anthrax, where the bacteria gets under the skin, often through a cut. It looks almost like a mosquito bite at first, Ahern said, then gets a &uot;classic black center.&uot;

Ahern said there is no cause for alarm in Minnesota. All public health agencies, hospitals and clinics are at a heightened alert for such an incident. The Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota’s local health agencies have been working for several years to prepare for a bioterrorism attack. The department operates a sophisticated system for detecting unusual disease patterns.

If a health treat appears to be serious and widespread, the Minnesota Department of Health will also work closely with the Center for Disease Control, the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services providers and clinics and hospitals across the state to implement a comprehensive response.

People need to stay calm, Williams said. If they are still frightened, they need to talk about it. &uot;There’s help available,&uot; she said. &uot;There are lots of opportunities for people to get the help they need.&uot;