HL Deb 16 June 1998 vol 590 cc132-3WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the anthrax vaccine currently administered to members of the Armed Forces is proven to be effective against all known strains of anthrax bacilli, including aerosolised and "dusty" anthrax, given that such stains are reported to be capable of penetrating nuclear, chemical and biological warfare protection equipment; and [HL1826]

What is the source of the anthrax vaccine currently being administered to members of the Armed Forces; what is its date of manufacture; what is its "shelf life"; and against how many strains of anthrax bacilli does it offer protection. [HL1827]

Lord Gilbert

The anthrax vaccine which is currently being offered to British troops deploying to the Gulf region has been produced by the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, CAMR; the Department of Health holds the product licence. These batches of vaccine were produced in 1991 and were given a shelf life of 2 years. They were subsequently retested in October 1966, when their shelf life was extended to January 1998. They underwent further potency testing in November 1997 and full safety testing by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control in January 1998, following which the Medicines Control Agency extended the shelf life of these batches of vaccine to November 1998.

A large number of different strains of anthrax bacteria have been isolated from many sources across the world and it would be impractical to test a vaccine against all of these. However, the UK vaccine, which contains the purified proteins produced by the anthrax bacterium, has been tested against a representative selection of strains and has been shown to provide protection against both injected and aerosolised anthrax bacteria. The degree of protection afforded would, though, depend upon the inherent virulence characteristics of the particular strain encountered and upon the size of the challenge presented; no vaccine could guarantee 100 per cent. protection in all circumstances.

As a matter of policy the Government have decided to release details of medical countermeasures in use by UK forces. However, it remains our policy not to release detailed information on the effectiveness of these medical countermeasures.