Is there really any proof that the cases of anthrax are linked to bin Laden?
Has there been outbreaks of anthrax before?
This year everyone was making a big deal of ‘all’ the shark attacks when we were really below our average for attacks.
Could this be the same thing?
Could it be that we are just at or below our normal number of cases of anthrax and the press is just making a big deal of them because of the threat of biological warfare from terrorists?
The last human anthrax death in this country I believe occurred in the 1970s. These cases we’re seeing now were obviously deliberately caused. Anthrax lives in the soil and farmers and outdoorspersons can sometimes get it that way, but it’s pretty rare. You don’t find it on people’s keyboards in offices. I don’t think there is any proof of who is sending it around. Even though there have only been a handful of cases and one death, some people are taking the antibiotic known to cure anthrax as a preventative. Because of this, there is already a drug-resistant e coli. that has emerged. There have been far more shark attacks and lightning deaths in Florida this year than anthrax deaths.
Typical numbers are a few cases of cutaneous anthrax a year, and a case of pulmonary anthrax every few years. The numbers for the current outbreaks are pretty well above what you’d expect for a statistical anomaly, especially since, as Jill said, they’re finding it in buildings.
The prime evidence is that this type of anthrax is ‘weaponized’. i.e. turned into a powder that can be distributed through the air. Powerderizing Anthrax requires a multi-million dollar facility. This isn’t something Clem just scraped off a sheep and mailed.
This material was either made by a foreign state government for this attack, or it was stolen from such a government. Or, it could be U.S. in origin, since the U.S. gave out quite a bit of this type of Anthrax powder to disease-control agencies and foreign military powers that were friendly to us in the 1980’s - including Iraq.
Cite please ? The bug likes to form spores when it is stressed. Once that happens, a 1930’s vintage freeze-dryer should serve to remove the excess water by sublimation. If you’re willing to using lab surplus equipment the cost of the drying setup would less than $1000.
You’re correct that Clem did not just scrape some spores off a sheep, but neither did he necessarily work in a modern western cGMP fermentation facility.
