Anxious About Anthrax
Anthrax is not a common disease. On average less than 5 Americans a year get infected with it by natural causes. Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by Bacillus Anthracis, a spore-forming bacterium most commonly found in domestic and wild animals. They contract it from contaminated soil, in which spores can remain active for decades. Humans can contract the disease if they are exposed to an infected animal, which most commonly happens on a farm because of the close contact between the farmer and the livestock. It primarily affects grazing animals, such as sheep, horses, cattle, and goats.
The disease can be transmitted three ways: through the skin (cuts and abrasions), inhalation (air born spores that enter the lungs), and ingestion (undercooked meat, or contaminated foods). Symptoms usually appear within seven days. Inhalation is the most common form of contraction when infected from a bio-weapon. The symptoms of inhalation most resemble that of a common flu, except that the disease worsens until death. The microbes multiply in the lymph nodes, spreading deadly toxins into the bloodstream. An average human being would have to breath in over 8000 spores to become infected. Inhalation anthrax is usually fatal. About 90 percent of people who inhale anthrax die.
Since Sept 11 there has been close to 100 anthrax cases in the United States. These have not been from natural causes. The Bush administration has labeled this a “bio-terrorist attack.” The president said “it wouldn’t surprise him” if Osama bin Laden, the person suspected in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, was behind the occurrences. A figure given in this article reads: “51% (of the general population) think the anthrax attacks are acts of terrorism.” This is surprising to me. I strongly believe that these attacks were planned and executed by Bin Laden and his followers. I think this because of the fact that Bin Laden has been known to try and acquire bio-weapons in the past. Also, the people responsible for the suicide-hijacking mission inquired about renting crop-dusting planes.
Anthrax is not contagious, and therefore it is not that effective as a weapon of mass destruction. Vaccines are commonly made, although a mutant version of Anthrax could be produced that would resist vaccination. All of the anthrax that has been mailed so far is the same strain, and can be combated by common vaccines such as Penicillin. The...