Anthrax: Poor Man's Atomic Bom
Ever since the nationwide anthrax scare following the tragic events of September 11th, the biological agent's name has become another taboo word in the English language. Paranoia swept the nation to the point where a cloud of baby powder would cause people to panic. But should we really be that afraid of Anthrax? When the biological agent was clinically studied, some of the results were surprising and it proved many of the common preconceptions about Anthrax wrong. Although Anthrax has horrendous capabilities, it is of some comfort to understand the many misconceptions perpetuated about the agent. Anthrax, or Bacillus anthracis, is a naturally occurring bacteria and it makes its habitat in the ground. Anthrax is actually quite common in the cattle populations across the world, and there are the few cases every year of people who become infected from handling cattle, and only some of these cases actually lead to death. With access to proper health care these cases are almost a hundred percent treatable. Then why is there such a fear of an anthrax attack? A simple answer to that question is that anything manmade is usually worse and more destructive then nature's intent for it. The reason anthra
There are alternatives but they would be inefficient and ineffective. The way to create weapons grade anthrax would be through using freeze dryers or high-pressure sprayers, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and therefore are impractical. These spores have to be small enough (<6 microns) so that a person could inhale them and the anthrax can stick to the lung membranes. This situation looks intensely frightening and dire, but this is the worst-case scenario and the likelihood of it happening even remotely like this is virtually nonexistent. Thus, one can conclude that to launch an effective terrorist attack on a specified target would require sophisticated technology and generous funding, something usually only offered by governments. Anthrax does make for a viable biochemical weapon and when compared to other weapons of mass destruction one can see that it is practically pennies on the dollar when put up against the cost of atomic bombs and nuclear warheads, which can cost millions of dollars. The terrorist can also try to insert it in the food supply, but very few people will contract the disease that way. In the case of anthrax, how a person was infected is one of the first things scientists will consider. There is cutaneous anthrax (infected skin) and inhalation anthrax (infected lungs). Almost every person who is exposed and infected is likely to die; survivorship is almost a rarity. Anybody could find, culture and grow anthrax spores; it's a naturally occurring bacterium. If antibiotic treatment is not started within 48 hours of the first symptoms, there is a 95% death rate. There are companies out there putting their efforts into developing biological weapons detectors, and though they are still in the early stages, they have some promising progress and research. It goes into a dormant state and stays that way until it is in an aqueous environment again. Edema factor causes body tissues to have edema (accumulation of serous fluid), and the lethal factor produces lethal toxin, which is ultimately what causes death via hemorrhaged tissues.
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