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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.
After Kamel's defection, it became known that in December 1990 the Iraqis had filled 100 R-400 bombs with botulinum toxin, 50 with anthrax, and 16 with aflatoxin. In addition, 13 Al Hussein (SCUD) warheads were filled with botulinum toxin, 10 with anthrax, and 2 with aflatoxin. These weapons were deployed in January 1991 to four locations for ...
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.
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.
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 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.
The Vollum strain is one of the 89 known strains of the anthrax bacterium (Bacillus anthracis). It is named Vollum after Roy Vollum, the Canadian-born bacteriologist who first isolated it from a cow in Oxford, England. The "Vollum 14578" strain was selected for use in the bioweapons trials on Gruinard Island, which took place in 1942.