The word ‘terrorism’ is in everyone’s minds these days. Add the prefix ‘bio’ before and you make it even scarier. From Smallpox, Polio, Cholera, Ebola to Zika, those tiny creatures feed on human blood and insecurity. You cannot see them with the naked eye, but you know they can kill you without mercy.
For Robert Stevens, those tiny creatures had a tragic impact on his life. In October 2001, he was the first person to die from anthrax inhalation in 25 years in the United States. The episode happened only a few days after the 9/11 attacks, when several letter containing the deadly disease were mailed to media companies and US senates.
Besides Stevens, four other people died from anthrax inhalation and, since then, the words anthrax and bioterrorism became almost inseparable. If another bioterrorist attack were to happen, anthrax would most likely be the chosen weapon, since its spores are easily spread in the environment, they can be easily inserted in food, sprays and powders and, most importantly, its efficacy as a biological weapon is already proven, in several occasions.
How does anthrax kill?
Anthrax is a disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. Infection occurs after the bacteria’s spores enter the blood stream of other organisms, mainly by one of these three routes: pulmonary, cutaneous and gastrointestinal.
Preparedness vs. Ignorance
But are microorganisms, such as the Bacillus anthracis, secretly plotting a bioterrorist attack on the human race? That is not quite the case: one can only speak of bioterrorism when the virus, bacteria, or other types of organisms or toxins, are deliberately released to cause illness or death. There must be a human brain orchestrating it.
Bioterrorism harms mostly by creating a sense of permanent fear. As long as that sense prevails, terrorism wins. But while public’s fear is the triumph of bioterrorists, preparedness might prevent a calamity. Governments draw endless guidelines, citizens struggle to stay informed on potentially fatal organisms and Universities try to educate their students. The University of New South Wales, in Australia, prepared a Bioterrorism and Health Intelligence course for professionals involved in bioterrorism preparedness in modern days. To demonstrate the content of the course and to give a perspective of what a bioterrorist attack might look like, the University created a fictional series called Pandemic.
References:
Goel, A. (2015). Anthrax: A disease of biowarfare and public health importance World Journal of Clinical Cases, 3 (1) DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i1.20
Riedel S (2005). Anthrax: a continuing concern in the era of bioterrorism. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center), 18 (3), 234-43 PMID: 16200179
Anderson, P. (2012). Bioterrorism: Toxins as Weapons Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 25 (2), 121-129 DOI: 10.1177/0897190012442351
Ten Years Ago Today the Anthrax Nightmare Unfolded, and Globalized
Timeline: How The Anthrax Terror Unfolded
F.B.I., Laying Out Evidence, Closes Anthrax Case