As standard protocol, the military routinely issued a series of inoculations against infectious diseases to all military traveling to the Middle East (to include yellow fever, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, meningitis, whooping cough, polio, and tetanus.)
Anthrax: About 150,000 troops were vaccinated with the Anthrax vaccine, which was a series of six shots administered to protect against the infectious bacterial used in biological warfare. Once inside the body, the spores replicate and produce three different proteins; it is the combination of these proteins that doctors believe cause tissue damage, shock, and death.
Botulinum toxoid (BT): About 8,000 troops were vaccinated with the BT vaccine to protect against exposure to extremely poisonous botulinum toxins. Most individuals experience only local side effects often associated with many types of vaccinations. These effects, primarily at the injection site, include local pain, tenderness, swelling, redness, and itching. Systemic reactions such as temporary fever, tiredness, headache, or muscle pain also can occur as well as development of a lump at the injection site that generally resolves within several weeks.
Pyridostigmine bromide (PB): PB is a pre-treatment drug taken by Service members during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to protect against anti-nerve agent attacks. PB was supplied during the Gulf War as a 21-tablet blister pack, with prescribed dosage as one 30-mg tablet every 8 hours. Veterans’ actual exposure is not known, because pills were self-administered. Again, the VA and other research organizations evaluated exposure to PB as a possible cause of chronic multi-symptom illnesses, but concluded that the evidence does not support an association.
Mefloquine (brand name: Lariam®): Mefloquine was a drug that has been given to military personnel, including those serving in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, for protection against malaria. Most people who take mefloquine do not experience any side effects, but for those who do, the most common reported side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, and bad dreams. People with liver problems, drink alcohol or take medicines that affect the liver may take longer to eliminate mefloquine from the body. Occasionally, mefloquine may cause more serious side effects, such as anxiety, paranoia, depression, mood changes, hallucinations, agitation, and unusual behavior. Other uncommon side effects may include muscle weakness, irregular heartbeat, and lung problems such as pneumonitis (inflammation of lung tissue).
Smallpox: Because there was concern that smallpox could be used as a biological weapon, Service members were vaccinated against it. Smallpox is a disease caused by the Variola major virus and spreads very easily from person to person with flu-like symptoms. There is no treatment, although fluids and medicines for pain or fever can help control symptoms. Most people recover, but some can die. The U.S. stopped routine smallpox vaccinations in 1972, however, military and other high-risk groups still receive the vaccine as a precaution again biological warfare.
VA Current Gulf War Vaccination Policy
The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences concluded in its report Gulf War and Health: Depleted Uranium, Sarin, Pyridostigmine Bromide, and Vaccines (2000) that there is inadequate or insufficient evidence to determine whether an association does or does not exist between multiple vaccinations and long-term adverse health problems. Consequently, the VA’s current policy is that it is unlikely the health effects reported by Gulf War Veterans are the result of exposures to the vaccines administered to Veterans, used alone or in combination.
Nonetheless, if you have health concerns about the vaccines you were administered during your Gulf War service, talk to your health care provider or local VA Environmental Health Coordinator.