Sex: M
Vaccine: ANTH, ANTH
Symptoms: Intestinal gangrene, Joint effusion, Vasculitis, Weight decreased
Clinical narrative: Submitted to Docket No. 1980N-0208; 69 FR 78281, December 29, 2004 - Bacterial Vaccines & Toxoids Efficacy Review Proposal. My son was in the military. He was given the anthrax vaccine on 6/7/01 in the desert. The vaccine lot number was FAV048. He did not have an immediate reaction to the vaccine but when he came home on leave in October, we (his family) noticed he had hair loss and weight loss. He had terrible nosebleeds every night because I had to change the sheets on his bed and he was unusually tired. I asked him about his nosebleeds and he said they started in the desert and he thought because it was so dry there. I reminded him that he was in another state now where it was very humid but the nosebleeds still didn't stop. After his leave, he kept having problems such as severe fatigue, nosebleeds, and his roommate said he was gasping for air when he slept. He kept going to the doctors who kept telling him there was nothing wrong and that he just had a virus. They would give him Motrin and send him home to rest. He came home from overseas after six months on leave and then our nightmare started. On 5/18/03, we went out in our boat and had a good day. When we got home, my son helped his dad clean the boat, and when he came inside, he said his stomach started hurting. His stomach pains got worse so we took him to the doctor. After several tests, he said he had a stunned bowels and blood in his urine. Doctor admitted him into the hospital for a few days later. The doctors kept doing cat scans and other tests and could not figure out what was wrong with my son. He kept getting worse. They finally had to do emergency surgery. When they opened him up, his small intestine was gangrenous. They had to cut out about 8 to 10 inches of his small intestine and the doctor kept commenting that he never had seen anything like this and took pictures to send to the military. We thought he would get better but he didn't; instead he got worse and his body started filling up with more and more fluid. The doctor had to open him up again and tried to find out if the intestine were leaking anywhere else. They tried to manipulate the intestine but could find no leaks or other problems. They sewed him back up and he got worse. Also, the doctors had to put him on a respirator. We had him life flighted to another hospital on 6/1/03. They saved his life and it took the doctors until 6/13/03 to give a diagnosis of an autoimmune disease called vasculitis. He had to be put on dialysis because his body had filled up with 65 pounds of extra fluid. They did 2 kidney biopsies and said my son would most likely need a transplant. He was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis. My son and our family feel that the anthrax vaccine brought on his autoimmune disease. Also, please note that the tests that were done at the hospitals indicate my son had no pre-existing markers in his blood. He is not a smoker either and was in excellent health and shape. All his problems seemed to start after he took the vaccine. We do have some good news to this story. My son's kidney condition has improved and he is off dialysis. He had to have a stent put near his kidney because the doctors found a blockage because of scarring caused by the vasculitis. Also, another mystery to this case is that my son's knees stopped bending in September 2003. He just woke up one day and they wouldn't bend. He has had surgery on his right knee and they have got it to bend to 65 degrees. He will soon have surgery on his left leg. He also has problems with his hands and arms but they are not as severe as his legs.