Well, the question then becomes, what are we supposed to do? I've been thinking outside the box about anthrax for about a month now - the only thing I can think of is that mail handlers should wear latex gloves and masks with fine filters.
Giving the entire country Cipro is a *bad* idea. Even if there was enough Cipro to go around, side effects are inevitable, and can include death. Also, widespread use of antibiotics increases the incidence of drug-resistant bacteria. Giving people antibiotics just to reassure them will result in increased deaths in the long run.
fda.gov
Here is a link to an article in PubMed where Cipro caused bone marrow depression leading to death:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
I see on PubMed instances where it caused kidney damage, nerve damage, gall bladder inflammation, vasculitis, hemolytic anemia, anaphylactic reaction, arthropathy, pancreatitis, the list goes on and on. |
