WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The US military will provide assistance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in developing a new medication against anthrax, an infectious and deadly disease that can be used in biological warfare, the Pentagon and the Department Health and Human Services announced Wednesday.

    The new medication, called anthrax immune globulin, could become a critical medical countermeasure for the United States in case of an anthrax attack, a statement issued by the two departments said.

    Anthrax-vaccinated military personnel at Army installations will be invited to support this effort by donating some of their blood plasma to create and evaluate the antibody-based medication.The first installation is Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where soldiers were informed of the project through brochures and oral presentations when they began to receive anthrax vaccinations on Wednesday.

    As most of the people in the United States vaccinated against anthrax -- about 1.2 million -- are military personnel, the Health and Human Services secretary asked the Defense Department for assistance in requesting plasma from anthrax-vaccinated troops, the statement said.

    The plasma would be used to make the new medication, which, if passing several tests, would be stored for emergency use to treat patients with severe anthrax infection, according to the statement.     

    Whether anthrax immune globulin would be useful in treating severe cases of anthrax is not yet known, but it is under investigation, it added.

    The 2001 anthrax attack catalyzed the development of the medication. During the 2001 anthrax attack, the mortality rate from severe anthrax disease was 45 percent, the statement said.

    The CDC, part of the Health and Human Services Department, wants to make enough anthrax immune globulin to protect between 5,000 and 10,000 people, who could be anybody in the country, civilian or military, a CDC official said. Enditem