With the recent events across the world -- the terrorist attacks of
9/11, the subsequent bombing of
Al Qaeda training grounds and
Taliban strongholds, there is much fear in the US media about a terrorist backlash against the US citizens. The media is largely playing on the fears of the populace, which is easily done given the level of information we receive.
Without a doubt, the biggest fear from a terrorist backlash would be the effect of a chemical weapon or a biological weapon being released in a heavily-populated area, with Anthrax being the most common feared weapon.
Upon doing research, this entire notion is absurd. Even accounting for the death in Florida, the notion that a group of people can manufacture the type of Anthrax needed for a widespread airborne attack is largely over hyped. Here's why:
- Anthrax is not suitable for airborne delivery:
In the absence of wind, even the "dry form" of Anthrax falls rapidly to the ground. Anthrax has a limited life while exposed to air, and people typically don't breathe in dirt. The greatest hazard in this scenario would come from livestock eating grass infected by the fallen Anthrax.
The wet form of Anthrax is much heavier, and would fall directly to the ground.
- Much more than one spore is required to start an infection:
Anthrax cells are Gram positive bacteria, which besides being weaker then Gram negative bacteria, also lends to meaning that the Anthrax cell itself is not harmful, only its excrement. Anthrax releases toxic chemicals (the processes are not fully understood yet by chemists) which are the fatal component. Low levels of Anthrax are not at all infectious, in fact, wool sorters are exposed to, on average, 150-700 spores an hour. The inhaled infectious dose varies from person to person, but is somewhere around 3,000 spores / ml. The media has been reporting that just one spore can kill a human being. The 3,000 spores / ml is the low limit of the number of spores required to start an infection. The fatal limit in humans is somewhere around the range of 3.0 x 10^6 spores / ml. Buildup in animals before death has been known to go up into the billions. Several billion spores may be released in an airborne attack, but a grown human would still have to inhale enough spores to produce the infectious amount of 3,000 / ml to "catch" Anthrax. Such low amounts are can quickly and easily be remedied by common antibiotics such as penicillin and aureomycin.
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Advanced laboratory equiment is required to create the "dry form" of Anthrax required for an airborne attack:
The media has not reported what type of Anthrax was used in the death of Robert Stevens. It is almost certain that the delivery of Anthrax in this case was intentional; however, the chances of the Anthrax being the feared “dry form” are minimal. Advanced laboratories, with equipment costing several hundred million dollars are required to aerosolize the spores. The equipment to do such a thing isn't as expensive as the equipment required to make sure the creators and the handlers of the aerosolized Anthrax aren't infected in the process. Even Iraq, who we feared had many Anthrax-based warheads do not have the capability to create dry Anthrax. Their warheads were full of "wet" Anthrax, which is very ineffective in any type of mass destruction.
The media has had a long history of hyping stories to gain ratings. Unfortunately, the latest events, while of a gravely serious matter, have proven to be over hyped. Chemical and Biological weapons are something to be feared, and the threat is definitely real that an attack could happen to innocent civilians. But the media needs to be more responsible in their portrayal of such scenarios. Attention needs to turn to preparing citizens towards what should be done in the event of an attack, not how the citizens will die in the event of an attack. The media must become more responsible in their portrayal of terrorist scenarios, lest we become a more panicked state than we currently are. In that event, not only have the terrorists succeeded greatly, they have done so through minimal effort and the help of the very news outlets their victims have come to rely upon.
Sources:
- http://nov55.com/athr.html
- http://www.bact.wisc.edu/Bact330/lectureanthrax