Small amounts of formaldehyde also are commonly used as preservatives in tetanus toxoid. Squalene is a naturally occurring substance found in plants, animals and humans. It's manufactured in every human body as part of the process of making cholesterol and hormones. In a crucial study, five cases of inhaled anthrax occurred among unvaccinated people, while no cases occurred among the vaccinated. Rhesus monkeys closely resemble humans in the way anthrax harms them and how they respond to vaccination.
Anthrax vaccine stimulates antibodies that block toxins common to all strains of anthrax bacteria.
Vaccinated rhesus monkeys, rabbits and other animals have survived challenge with multiple strains of bacteria, while unvaccinated animals consistently die. In more than 200 years of experience, no vaccine has ever been shown to cause cancer. In fact, national experts specifically recommend vaccination during pregnancy for women who are vulnerable to tetanus, influenza, hepatitis B or meningococci, just as they would if women were threatened with anthrax. DOD relays all reports of adverse events after any vaccination to the Food and Drug Administration, as it has for decades, for its Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. All DOD health-care providers must report hospitalizations, loss of duty greater than 24 hours and suspected lot contamination.