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This weekend marks the fourth anniversary of the September eleventh attacks… and later this month residents of Florida and Washington, D.C. will commemorate the deadly anthrax attacks that killed five people soon after. Now University of Florida researchers have identified an anthrax toxin that completely paralyzes a key part of the human immune system… the white blood cells known as neutrophils (new-truh-fills). Neutrophils act like cellular Pac-mans, gobbling up invading bacteria and viruses. U-F scientists found that within hours of exposure to anthrax, the protein filaments that help neutrophils move about the body are disabled. The findings could be the first step toward blocking anthrax toxins from stopping neutrophils in their tracks.

Dr. Fred Southwick / UF infectious disease expert

“These toxins just block the first response that the host normally would have to the infections, so it really explains why these patients get so sick, so quickly.”

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Scientists’ next step is to conduct additional studies to learn more about how the anthrax toxin targets white blood cells. This could lead to the development of more effective anthrax vaccines. Currently, powerful antibiotics are the quickest and most effective remedy for anthrax exposure. But unless these drugs are taken quickly, people who come in contact with the deadly disease can rapidly become ill and, ultimately, die.

,b>Dr. Fred Southwick / UF infectious disease expert

“We would hope that when the diagnosis is made that we could start some type of therapy that would prevent the paralysis of the neutrophils and enhance the ability of the patients to fight off the infections.”

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At the University of Florida Health Science Center, I’m Mike Garrison