[OT] Anthrax protocol issued.

[Greg Broiles]

At 12:01 AM 10/16/2001 +0200, Ralf-P. Weinmann wrote:
>On Sun, Oct 14, 2001 at 04:55:45PM -0700, Karsten M. Self wrote:
> > >     - CDC currently does NOT recommend the use of nasal swab specimens
> > >       as part of evaluating anthrax threats/implied threats or
> > >       evaluating concerned citizens who think they may have been exposed
> > >       to anthrax.
>
>Does anyone know why the CDC does not recommend using nasal swab specimens
>for testing ? Is that because you can only reliably detect inhalational
>anthrax that way or is there any other reason ?

Well, I don't know what's the CDC's concerns are, but nasal swabs seem 
likely to answer one question - "does this person presently have anthrax 
spores inside their nasal passage?" which is different in several important 
ways from other questions of interest, including -

Has this person been exposed to anthrax bacteria or spores in the last 60 - 
90 days?
Has this person's immune system created antibodies to the anthrax bacteria?
Have this person's lymph nodes become infected? Are toxins being produced?

Some people may have anthrax spores in their nose but no infection (perhaps 
they were exposed to far fewer than the 5-10000 spores needed for 
inhalational anthrax) and some people may have an infection but no spores 
in their nose (because they have cutaneous anthrax, or because they blew 
their nose a lot, or because they're frequent users of powderered inhaled 
drugs like cocaine or amphetamine and don't have hair inside their noses).

So - if the purpose of the test is to determine which people need medical 
treatment - the test is likely to be misleading, sometimes optimistically, 
sometimes pessimistically.


--
Greg Broiles
gbroiles at well.com
"We have found and closed the thing you watch us with." -- New Delhi street kids