Thursday, March 31, 2011

Anthrax Prevention

Statistical Study Estimates How Many Anthrax Cases Were Prevented
Tyler Benmark

  1. Ron Brookmeyer and Natalie Blades of Johns Hopkins University performed the experiment.
  1. The sponsorship of the research was from numerous public health officials. The specific details were disclosed.
  1. However, public health officials “had recommended that approximately 10,000 potentially exposed people undergo a 60-day regimen of antimicrobial prophylaxis” earlier this year. So, with this definite study, these same officials can now make their argument more concrete. The study proved that a certain treatment offered actually did help patients suffering from the symptoms of anthrax exposure.
  1. The methodology was not included on the site. Also, neither was a link to the actually numbers of the study. I was surprised at this especially because the article was published in Scientific American. It made me search in other places for different information. However, the only information I could find was the researchers’ names. Although, this is not enough to actually see the methodology, the researchers come from a respectable college.
  1. While the methodology was not clear, the results were also skeptical. The author explains, “their analysis clearly shows that the antibiotics saved lives.” But the author does not show specific results. Still though, the results were presented in a clear distinct way.
  1. In this study, there were no graphs or visual forms of information presented.

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