Cancer drugs to stop bioweapons

Two cancer-combating medicines show potential for protecting U.S. troops and civilians from biological weapon attacks from pathogens like monkeypox.

Just this week, monkeypox was involved in some of the eight cases of possible contact with dangerous biological agents at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., the Frederick News-Post reported. USAMRIID said last week there were 14 accidents in total involving personnel in full-body protective suits in 2012.

Part of the Department of Defense, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency counters weapons of mass destruction from chemical, biological and radiological through to nuclear and high yield explosive threats. The agency is funding St Louis Universitys Mark Buller, who will look at cancer-fighting drugs Gleevec and Tasigna for preventing and treating monkeypox exposure.

The Monkeypox threat

Monkeypox is similar to smallpox. First found in monkeys, the disease was reported in humans for the first time in 1970, but the first U.S. outbreak didnt occur until ten years ago.

In that outbreak (which is believed to have been unintentional), Americans became sick from contact with infected prairie dogs. The disease can also spread from person to person through face-to-face contact or by touching an infected persons body fluids or their contaminated objects like clothing or bedding.

Once infected with the virus, symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, backache and lymph nodes may swell.

While this may sound like an average day with the flu, the telltale sign of monkeypox really is its brutal rash. Often the rash starts on the face and then can spread to the body, becoming raised fluid-filled bumps.

Currently, there is no specific treatment for monkeypox.

Lasting for about a month, monkeypox can be lethal and in some instances has killed about 10 percent of those infected.

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Cancer drugs to stop bioweapons