Anthrax Case Number 3

[Dan Stack]

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/31567.htm

Hard to get through, but New York Post has reported a third case of Anthrax at the tabloid. Apparently an intern from Sudan is the main suspect, who when he left some time ago sent an e-mail saying he "had left them a little present".

Any other confirmations of this?

[Dan Stack]

Thankfully, so far it has not yet been confirmed about a third case but the FBI is indeed hunting for the intern.

[Sarge]

I don't think we're going to see any more news articles about military members being discharged because they won't get vaccinated against anthrax. I'm glad I got mine this spring. If anyone is wondering, it's a series of three shots with two weeks between shots, and it's not particularly painful, but it does leave a small lump in your arm for close to a month. Unlike a flu shot, it doesn't even make you feel sick.

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Well I'm damn sure I wouldn't refuse the vaccination if I were in the military. I don't like jabs either, but I don't see why it's such a big deal that some people would let themselves be discharged from the military over it.

Scary what one person an a little vial of can do isn't it? Nucelar weapons are the least of our worries.

[Dave Biggins]

Thie third person, it was confirmed this afternoon, does not have anthrax. He was checked into Prince William County Hospital this morning and examinations were performed. The results were returned from Richmond early this afternoon: all test results were negative. He has the Flu.

[Lt.Khrys Antos]

I read somewhere, that airborne Anthrax is only lethal when it is between 10-30 microns in the air. Otherwise, our nose and lungs don't take it in and we don't feel anything. Makes me believe these cases are just coincidence....What a coincidence, though!

[REG]

Considering that we're on a state of high alert, sometimes you cannot take the chance of dismissing it as a terrorist act. While we cannot succumb to paranoia and hysteria (but we often do), sometimes the best preventive measure is to be aware of your surrounding at all time.

BTW, the two cases of Anthrax which originated at the building where National Enquirer is published: This cannot be one of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda's target, can it?

I do not mean to ridicule nor offend the people that work in that building (their lives are as precious as my own) ... but shutting down a sensationalistic, tabloid newspaper is considered a bad thing?

[Dan Stack]

If I were an evil terrorist type, I'd actually be thinking small as well as big, to send the message - "nowhere is safe". Six thousand people dead one day at the World Trade Cener, six dead at a pizza parlor or tabloid newspaper... Not saying it is terrorism for sure, but it sure could be.

[StyroFoam Man]

This message has been removed on request by the
poster

[Pete]

Originally posted by StyroFoam Man

The Anthrax virus is presistent, so this could work....

I guess Anthrax isn't a virus. It's a bacterial-spore. It does have staying power, though. It is supposed to be able to last for several years in soil and still be viable.

It's most lethal when inhaled. The initial symptoms are kinda like a bad cold, with the coughing, general aches and pains, fever, fatigue, and finally difficulty breathing.

It's hard to diagnose right away as Anthrax (though it looks like folks are now far more likely to ask themselves 'Hmmm. is this anthrax?'), and even if is diagnosed, it's generally too late. Heavy antibiotics reduce the deathrate from 99% to 80%, though.

I think Captain Hunter was right about anthrax being a greater threat to us than nuclear weapons, terrorist-wise. You can raise some anthrax in any dark basement, but in how many dark basements can you build a nuclear device?

[Capt.Hunter]

Any basement, assuming you have the parts on hand. You still need fermentation vats, liquid media, etc for brewing bugs. The way US security was prior to the WTC attack, someone could have driven across the border with the parts for a nuke in the car boot and just said "No, officer" when asked if carrying any fruit or vegetables.

I heard the National Enquirer claimed they were a target because they ran a story saying Bin Laden's hatred of the USA started when an American girl laughed at the size of his reproductive parts. Oh, now it all makes sense...

[StyroFoam Man]

This message has been removed on request by the
poster

[Lee T]

Originally posted by Dan Stack
If I were an evil terrorist type, I'd actually be thinking small as well as big, to send the message - "nowhere is safe".

You just defined Terrorism, terrorism is not about death toll it's about having people afraid. The major part of a terrorist wave is psychological, it's when everybody looks with suspicion at everything ( e.g: When you use the subway after 2 subway bombing it's not the same subway anymore...)

[REG]

If that is the case, then the Al Qaeda have no access to making biological weapons. Unless they're holding that back, they've resorted to bombs and using commercial airlines as suicide missiles.

Of course, we should be on alert. Most bin Laden supporters and Al Qaeda associates are usually college-educated men that are unemployed or holding a job that is beneath his degree.