I thought that the cutaneous and inhaled forms of anthrax are caused by the same bacterium (Bacillus anthracis). The only difference is whether spores enter the skin through a cut or if there are enough spores to be inhaled and thus cause infection through the lungs. The cutaneous for is so rare becuase it takes more than 8,000 spores to cause it. The skin form requires less spores / exposure.

Check out the CDC's fact sheet:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo...o/anthrax_g.htm

 

I'm no expert but it seems to me that Anthrax is turning out to be a bit of a failure as a bio-warfare agent unless, and I stress unless, it can be delivered in huge payloads.

It appears to me to be more successfull as an agent of fear.

Of course that's just IMHO

 

Depends on how many of these things were mailed out ... if the two we know about were the only 2 that were mailed ... I would say it is very successfull ...

If hundreds of thousands of these things were sent out ... and no more cases are reported ... then yes, it is a bit of a failure.

The fear is that hundreds of thousands of these things were sent out ... and at the current rate of one death for every 2 mailings ... that means ...

having lots of little payloads seems just as effective to me as having one big payload.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nova s2k
[B]

Depends on how many of these things were mailed out ... if the two we know about were the only 2 that were mailed ... I would say it is very successfull ...

 

Now I'm paraphrasing CNN, but the cutaneous type is not as deadly as the spore type. If untreated, the cutaneous type will kill 20% of those infected...if treated, only 1% perish. The spore type has a higher mortality rate. They didn't explain why.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sunchild
[B]

It's the same bacteria either way though, right?

 

taken right from the CDC wesite:

Cutaneous: Most (about 95%) anthrax infections occur when the bacterium enters a cut or abrasion on the skin, such as when handling contaminated wool, hides, leather or hair products (especially goat hair) of infected animals. Skin infection begins as a raised itchy bump that resembles an insect bite but within 1-2 days develops into a vesicle and then a painless ulcer, usually 1-3 cm in diameter, with a characteristic black necrotic (dying) area in the center. Lymph glands in the adjacent area may swell. About 20% of untreated cases of cutaneous anthrax will result in death. Deaths are rare with appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

Inhalation: Initial symptoms may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax is usually fatal.

Intestinal: The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated meat and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Intestinal anthrax results in death in 25% to 60% of cases.

 

So it's all the same bacterium, but the method of infection differs. Well, I doubt anyone is going to sniff the contents of a powdery letter anymore.

 

What is even more troubling is that it would not be impossible to create a multiple antibiotic resistant strain of Anthrax. You wouldn't even need to use recombinant DNA technology. Just culture your bug, expose it to an antibiotic and collect what ever survives. Repeat.

It's good know that Anthrax is difficult to weoponize and it's not contagious

Small Pox on the other hand is a nasty virus and is VERY contagious.

I love the reporter last night who when asking Bush about Anthrax referred to it as a virus.

Stupid journalism majors.

 

I was actually listening to some of the terrorism experts, and they think that the next attacks won't be high tech at all. They think it's just going to be a bomb going off at some hig occupancy area, like a mall or a sporting event. Not sure how much bio terrorism capability these guys have.

 

Of course, we're also assuming that these incidents are terrorist related. They could also simply be the product of some home-grown nut who is looking for his own moment in the spotlight. Remember the Tylenol tamperings?? How many people did that get?