Vaccine sufferers relate tales

Widow of former BioPort worker talks to U.S. legislators

by A.J. Evenson and Tim Martin

Lansing State Journal

WASHINGTON - The widow of a BioPort Corp. employee told a congressional committee Tuesday - often through tears - the anthrax vaccination program must be made safer and voluntary.

Barbara Dunn of Ionia said she testified before the U.S. House Government Reform Committee so others won't have to endure what she has - the loss of a family member possibly because of the Lansing-made anthrax vaccine.

Her husband, Richard Dunn, died July 7. An autopsy report suggests the 61-year-old man's heart attack may have been related to the 11 doses of anthrax vaccine he took while an employee of the labratory.

"Nothing can be done to bring my husband back," said Dunn, who cried briefly twice during her five-minute testimony. "But I ask this committee to please rethink this program and make it a safe one."

BioPort, the nation's sole producer of the vaccine, maintains the vaccine is safe and effective.

Pentagon officials say they will continue to vaccinate troops against the deadly biological agent possessed by at least 10 nations, including Iraq and North Korea. They are investigating Dunn's death but say it's too early to respond to reports that the vaccine may have been a factor.

But the Government Reform Committee vowed to continue putting pressure on the military until it makes the program voluntary or proves there are no serious health risks for U.S. troops.

The Committee on Tuesday heard from a half-dozen people who feel they or family members were harmed by the anthrax vaccine:

Nancy Rugo, of Spokane, Wash., testified her sister - Sgt. Sandra Larson - suspected anthrax vaccine contributed to her failing health and eventual death. Larson died June 14, at age 32, of an illness that attacked her bone marrow.

Senior Airman Thomas Colosimo of Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base testified he lost 50 pounds in three months after receiving his fourth anthrax shot. His fatigue and other side effects persist, and he is no longer allowed to drive alone.

Air Force Maj. Jon Irelan of Oregon told committee members he suffered mood swings, loss of facial hair and sudden loss of strength after taking the anthrax vaccine. He said his testicles shrunk to the size of peanuts.

A month after Dunn received his 11th dose, he complained of fatigue, nausea and swelling, an autopsy report and accounts provided by company officials show. His family doctor determined a connection to the vaccine. But BioPort's company doctors, who examined Dunn three times, said there was no link.

Barbara Dunn said her husband's reaction to the vaccine wasn't isolated. She said she knew of other BioPort workers who suffered swelling or joint pain after receiving their shots.

"I hope someday that if any of you need to take this vaccine, you will have an option of whether or not to take it," Dunn told committee members. "._._. and that if your option is to say `no' there will not be any repercussions."

Dunn said her husband didn't talk much about BioPort - until the last week of his life. She declined to give details of those discussions when asked by Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana.

He was found dead on his bathroom floor the morning of July 7. BioPort officials say more than half of the company's 210 employees have taken doses, with the most serious reaction a severe headache.

The company issued a statement Tuesday, saying it expects further medical investigation of Dunn's death - by the Pentagon, Food and Drug Administration and other independent researchers - will confirm 30 years of exhaustive research and exonerate the vaccine.

"Their role is to raise questions and hear testimony. It is clear they will continue to do that," BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen-Root said.

Committee members said they have been contacted by more than 200 people who fear repercussions if they are identified.

Though the committee lacks the direct power to change the Pentagon policy, it can exert pressure on other congressional committees and the Clinton administration to do so. "These are not isolated stories," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut. "There are countless stories."

The military's current program calls for mandatory vaccination of all 2.4 million troops. The Pentagon has scaled back the program, vaccinating only troops in high-risk areas, such as the Persian Gulf, because of dwindling supplies of the vaccine.

BioPort can't make the vaccine because it does not yet have Food and Drug Administration approval of its renovated labs. The company has been working toward that approval since August 1999. A November 1999 inspection found 30 problems BioPort must fix.

Pentagon officials defended the program and said they will resume mandatory vaccinations once the vaccine production resumes. They said the anthrax vaccine is the best available vaccine in its fight against the biological weapon.

"We don't want people to get sick," said Maj. Gen. Randall West, the Pentagon's advisory for chemical and biological weapons. "But I also don't want to ever sit before you and have to explain how hundreds of thousands died, left unprotected, when we had a way to protect them."

The Pentagon says five companies have expressed interest in becoming a second source for the vaccine. The military is also considering building a facility that it would own to produce a variety of vaccines.

Government reports attribute no deaths to the vaccine and just 10 confirmed cases of hospitalization tied to the vaccine. More than 470,000 troops have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Mark Elengold, a deputy director with FDA, said despite more than 1,500 reports of adverse reactions, no clear pattern or unusual trends have emerged in any illness said to be related to the anthrax vaccine.

Citing a recent report commissioned by Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Wash., Elengold acknowledged trace amounts of squalene have been detected in some doses of the vaccine, but in naturally occurring amounts. Squalene is a controversial, and yet unapproved, additive that is said to boost the potency of a vaccine.

At the Pentagon, spokesman Kenneth Bacon said the FDA assured the Pentagon that squalene was not added to the anthrax vaccine but was present as a naturally occurring substance. "We don't know if those lots were administered to the troops," he said.

Contact Tim Martin at 377-1061 or tmartin@lsj.com or A.J. Evenson at 377-1015 or aevenson@lsj.com.