According to U.S. Army scientists. The study, which appears in the Jan. 20th print edition of the journal Vaccine, represents the first successful use of a non-toxin vaccine
""Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, is recognized as one of the most serious bioterrorism threats. It produces three main components that allow it to do harm—lethal toxin, edema toxin, and the capsule. During anthrax infection, the bacterium invades and grows to high concentrations in the host. The capsule surrounds the bacterium and prevents it from being ingested and destroyed by the white blood cells, thus allowing anthrax infection to progress. The toxins are thought to act mainly by damaging the body's natural defense mechanisms.
Current human vaccines for anthrax are based on the protective antigen, or PA, component of the anthrax toxins. Scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) have extensively studied protective antigen, demonstrating that PA alone confers protection in animal challenge studies with both rabbits and monkeys.""
"""This is the first non-toxin anthrax vaccine shown to be protective in monkeys," Friedlander said. "In addition, this new capsule vaccine is expected to work against possible vaccine-resistant strains of anthrax, as well as in recipients whose immune systems may not respond to protective antigen alone."""
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