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Efforts to research the feasibility of Operation Vegetarian began in 1942 with the director of the Porton Down biology department, Paul Fildes. [6] He was ordered to find appropriate suppliers of the chemicals needed for production of both the anthrax and the cakes themselves, along with the specialized containers to carry them to prevent contamination during transport.
Irradiated mail is mail that has been deliberately exposed to radiation, typically in an effort to disinfect it. The most notable instance of mail irradiation in the US occurred in response to the 2001 anthrax attacks; the level of radiation chosen to kill anthrax spores was so high that it often changed the physical appearance of the mail.
The symptoms in anthrax depend on the type of infection and can take anywhere from 1 day to more than 2 months to appear. All types of anthrax have the potential, if untreated, to spread throughout the body and cause severe illness and even death. [24] Four forms of human anthrax disease are recognized based on their portal of entry.
Anthrax is a bacterial disease that is caused by Bacillus anthracis bacteria. It can infect animals when they breathe in or ingest spores in contaminated soil, plants, or water.
In September 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two U.S. Senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others. Of those infected, 11 developed cutaneous anthrax, while 11 developed inhalation anthrax. 20 of the 22 infected worked at a site where contaminated mail was handled or received. [7]
Anthrax meningoencephalitis is also nearly always fatal. [72] Gastrointestinal anthrax infections can be treated, but usually result in fatality rates of 25% to 60%, depending upon how soon treatment commences. Injection anthrax is the rarest form of anthrax, and has only been seen to have occurred in a group of heroin injecting drug users. [70]
Anthrax weaponization is the development and deployment of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis or, more commonly, its spore (referred to as anthrax), as a biological weapon. As a biological weapon, anthrax has been used in biowarfare and bioterrorism since 1914. [ 1 ]
Anthrax vaccines are used for both livestock and human immunization. One of the most used anthrax vaccines today is based on the Sterne strain, in the form of a live-spore vaccine for animals. A vaccine with live spores is dangerous for humans, so vaccines based on the secreted toxin protein, protective antigen (PA), have been explored.