DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS

File: 123096_sep96_decls1_0034.txt
Page: 0034
Total Pages: 109

Subject: DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS       

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003203

Folder Title: DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS                                       

Document Number:          1

Folder Seq  #:         21




                                                  UNCLASSIFIED



                      An epidemic of inhalation and= in its early stage with nonspecific symptoms could

               be confused with a wide variety of viral, bacww, and fungal infectious diseases.


               Progression over 2-3 days with the sudden development of severe respiratory distress


               followed by shock and death in 24-36 hours in essentially all untreated cases eliminates


               diagnoses other than inhalation anffim. Ile presence of a widened mediastinum on chest X


               ray, in particular, should alert one to the diagnosis. Other suggestive findings include chest-


               wall edema, hemorrhagic pleural effusions, and hemorrhagic meningitis. Other diagnoses to


               consider include aerosol exposure to SEB; but in this caw, onset would be more rapid after


               exposure (if known), and no prodrome would be evident prior to onset of severe respiratory


               symptoms. Mediastinal widening on chest X ray will also be absent. Patients with plague or


               tularemia pneumonia will have pulmonary infiltrates and clinical signs of pneumonia (usually


               absent in and=).


                      3. S=iflc Laboratory Diagnosis


                      Bacillus anthracis will be readily detectable by blood culture with routine media.


               Smears and cultures of pleural fluid and abnormal cerebrospinal fluid may also be positive.


               Impression smears of mediastinal lymph nodes and spleen from fatal cases should be


               positive. Toxemia is sufficient to permit and= toxin detection in blood by immunoassays,


               and such assays will be available in field-deployed laboratories (see Section III).


                                                            9
                                                   UNCLASSIFIED                                       boj'@C@S

Document 109 f:/Week-36/BX003203/DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS/detection of medical defense against biological :1217960927452
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003203
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
Folder Seq # = 21
Subject = DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL
Document Seq # = 1
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 = 17-DEC-1996