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标题：Anthrax snub to soldiers
作者：RUPERT HAMER
期刊名称：Sunday Mirror
印刷版ISSN：0956-8077
出版年度：2002
卷号：Nov 17, 2002
出版社：Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd.

Anthrax snub to soldiers

RUPERT HAMER

BRITISH troops are being made to sign a legal waiver to prevent their families suing the Ministry of Defence if they die from anthrax during a war with Iraq.

Nearly 30,000 earmarked to go to the Gulf for Desert Storm II are being offered jabs which will protect them against the deadly biological weapon.

Those who refuse are being made to sign a paper which bars their family from taking legal action if they are killed or injured by anthrax.

The move follows the controversy over the so-called Gulf War Syndrome that affected soldiers who fought in the 1991 conflict.

More than 2,000 claim being given a cocktail of vaccine and nerve agents gave them a variety of illnesses - and are demanding millions of pounds in compensation.

The MoD denies the syndrome exists.

Troops currently on readiness to go to the Gulf are being given priority for anthrax vaccinations. They are not compulsory and soldiers are given a presentation about the jab beforehand.

Troops require a number of injections over a period of time and it takes three months for the vaccination to render them immune. Drugs to combat chemical warfare are not given until troops are in a potential combat zone.

James Moore, of the National Gulf Veterans and Families' Association, said last night: "The fact that the MoD is giving servicemen and women a choice whether to have the jab - and then asking them to sign a legal waiver - means they will be able to escape responsibility for the consequences.

"My advice would be that the risks from taking anthrax vaccine far outweigh the risks of being killed by anthrax."

An MoD spokeswoman said: "The Ministry offered an immunisation programme to fully protect its troops as necessary. The health of service personnel is paramount."

IRAQI dictator Saddam Hussein has secret plans to pay Libya pounds 2billion to provide a safe haven for his family and 12 top aides if America declares war, it was reported yesterday.