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In 2001, following the attacks on the World Trade Center, the United States was again targeted by terrorists, but this time using biological weapons. During the anthrax attack, letters filled with white powder were sent to senators' offices and news agencies. When it opened, the powder filled the air and people nearby inhaled it. A few days later, people started to get sick. Of the 22 people who became ill, five died.
Over the last two decades, the threat of bioterrorism has become increasingly important in public consciousness and national security. The government continues to invest in biodefense. The National Institute of Health and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are investing in strategies to prevent and counter any attack.
In a study published in the journal mbio, the researchers announced the development of a new vaccine that would protect both anthrax and plague. They say the vaccine "is a solid candidate for storage against a possible bioterrorism attack involving one or the other of these bio-threat agents."
"Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis, the agents responsible for anthrax and plague, respectively, are two of the deadliest pathogenic bacteria that have been used as biological warfare agents, "writes the team.
As a result, researchers sought to create a vaccine that would counteract both. In 2017, they published research in the journal Frontiers in Immunology announcing the development of a vaccine producing a robust antibody response against plague and anthrax in mice, rats and rabbits.
In the latest study, the team relied on previous research findings and announced the creation of an anthrax-plague nanoparticle vaccine that triggers an immune response to both bacteria.
The author of the study, Venigalla Rao, of the Catholic University of America, said Newsweek they created the vaccine by incorporating the key antigens of both agents.
"By incorporating all these components into a double (multivalent) vaccine and injecting it into the body, we are able to stimulate the immune response against both organisms before any exposure to these organisms," he said. he declares.
"In the event of a bioterrorism attack using either organism, the body being already immunized, pre-existing immune responses induced by the vaccine will neutralize these toxin / virulence factors produced by exposure to these proteins.
"As a result, the organisms will not grow and cause a serious infection. In our animal studies, we did not find any significant bacterial infections in vaccinated animals, while unvaccinated control animals showed bacterial growth and succumbed to infection a few days after exposure. said Rao.
For the moment, two doses of the vaccine are needed to provide total protection. Rao said that although some aspects of the vaccine could be tested on humans, testing live versions of coal and / or plague at lethal doses could not. "We would also like to turn our vaccine into clinical trials on humans and, if successful, store a single anthrax-plague vaccine as part of our national preparation, as opposed to two separate vaccines against the disease." Anthrax and against the plague, "he said.
"I hope that [a bioterrorism attack] will never happen. Our goal, from the point of view of vaccine research, is to assist national (global) preparedness in the event of an attack. Much of the future research will depend on the funding and the interest of government and commercial agencies, and will be led by them. "
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