Medical countermeasures to protect humans from anthrax bioterrorism

The deliberate dissemination of Bacillus anthracis spores via the US mail system in 2001 confirmed their potential use as a biological weapon for mass human casualties. This dramatically highlighted the need for specific medical countermeasures to enable the authorities to protect individuals from a future bioterrorism attack. Although vaccination appears to be the most effective and economical form of mass protection, current vaccines have significant drawbacks that justify the immense research effort to develop improved treatment modalities. After eight years and an expenditure of more than $50 billion, only marginal progress has been made in developing effective therapeutics. This article summarizes the most important medical countermeasures that have mostly been developed since the 2001 events, and highlights current problems and possible avenues for future research.