[PurVirgo]

=) Good to see you guys are on top of things! I have to wonder about the validity of this report, though, after reading that. Besides - doesn't the bacteria become unable to produce toxin under aerobic conditions?

Question though - does Clostridium tetani form endospores?

[struwwelpeter]

All Clostridia form endospores, as far as I know. These are the reason for the canning industry and autoclaves.

They are pretty tough, but not as hard to kill as Bacillus spores - some anthrax spores were cultured from Louis Pasteur's lab coat over a hundred years after it was contaminated.

It is feasible to produce tetanus toxin, and it is a big NBC weapon. Saddam supposedly had many many gallons, enough to kill everyone on the planet.

The article is probably accurate, just the news release was shakey. Quite often, any infective agent is referred to as a 'virus'.

[bonesmccoy]

yes, clostridia does form spores.

You are probably correct about the production of the toxins under aerobic conditions.

Vaccination would provide protection against this germ.