O.K. JustPiper you piqued my curiosity and I did a "little" research on rabies. I also searched for bioterror and rabies, and Islam and their view of dogs.
The article regarding Rabies being the biggest killer of people in China was very surprising. I have included cases of rabies in Africa and the Phillipines, because the track of problems associated with terrorists seems to always present itself in other countries as well as our own. I have only listed a brief listing of the entirety that I found regarding rabies cases around the country.
Muhammad and Dogs - . Muhammad Made Them Akin to Evil Creatures
We see that Muhammad had irrational - superstitious beliefs concerning dogs. Beliefs that make no sense going against modern medicine and science, logic, and practical experience. Here is a quick account of the five points brought up:
1)Muhammad wanted all dogs to be killed, but he allowed dogs to live that served useful, physical purposes to their owners. But, regardless, all black dogs were to be killed because they were a "Satan".
2)Money made from the sale of "non-useful" dogs was a dirty as a prostitute's money.
3)God takes away reward in heaven for Muslims who own dogs as pets.
4)If a dog passes in front of a group of praying people, their prayers are null and void.
5)Angels will not enter a house if it contains a dog, (or a picture of a living creature).
One of the interesting things I heard about this issue, from an Arab man was that the Druze in Lebanon have a tradition that says that when Muhammad was a child, he was bitten by a watchdog - because the dog had caught Muhammad stealing eggs!
This may or may not be true, but it would help to explain Muhammad's attitude toward dogs. Unfortunately, his absurd beliefs about dogs are now part of Islamic "dogma" (no pun intended).
Muhammad had superstitious beliefs about dogs and how they fit into God's world. Muhammad made them akin to evil creatures. This irrationality is now fundamental to Islam. To this day Muslims harass other Muslims who own dogs as pets.
Jesus never taught this type of superstition. Christ's teachings were based upon faith, love, and obedience to God. When Christ taught prayer, He taught that God judges the heart, not the form or outward appearance. When Christ taught about heaven, and it's rewards, He did not state that owning an animal would cost you your good works. Christ's message was simple: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. There were no bizarre legalistic ties put upon that message. Relationship with God consists in purity of heart, not purity of form and external appearance.
http://answering-islam.org.uk/Silas/dogs.htm
It is of course unfashionable to criticize Islam. Still one can't help noting that a culture that hates and mistreats dogs isn't likely to find much common ground with Americans and other Westerners who love and treat dogs as family members. Indeed, part of Islam's contempt for dogs is rooted in the view that canine pets are a manifestation of Western moral corruption.
http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:VUjBGPNX4wcJ:www.townhall.com/columnists/kathleenparker/kp20021204.shtml+%22Islam%22+%22dogs%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Human Rabies Cases Increase in China - #1 Killer Disease
Human rabies cases in China increased nearly 63% during the first 9 months of 2003: killing 1297 people up to the end of September, 2003 - a number which exceeds the 2002 total of 1003 deaths.
Rabies is now the number one killer disease in China: exceeding the death rates of SARS and AIDS.
The China Center for Disease Control and Prevention blames the increased number of deaths on the "mad desire" of citizens to own pets, and the low vaccination rate of these pets. The presence of stray dogs, running wild in suburban and rural areas was also blamed.
While officials are now blaming careless pet owners (pet ownership is still considered a symbol of bourgeois decadence), China has uniform compulsory vaccination laws that are rigidly enforced. If a dog owner cannot produce a certificate of vaccination, the pet is often killed on the spot.
Dogs raised and sold for meat -a highly profitable State enterprise - are exempted from vaccination: the theory being there is no need to expend funds on an animal that is to be slaughtered. The overwhelming majority of rabies cases have been in dog meat production areas, where there are few, if any pets of any sort.
This ambivalence on the part of the government may well be the largest factor in this deadly outbreak.
Source: ProMed, november 26, 2003.
http://www.biohazardnews.net/2003_11_01_archive.shtml
Rabies in humans are rare, but it is always deadly. Thirty-seven human cases have been reported in the United States since 1990, according to the CDC.
Rabies is usually transmitted via bites or scratches from infected dogs, cats, bats, foxes, skunks, coyotes and bobcats.
The CDC reported three rabies deaths in the United States in 2002, one in 2001 and five in 2000. The Virginia case is the only death reported so far in 2003.
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=39186
- Rabies verified in southern Chester County (Pennsylvania) Mar 04 5:08 PM The incident occurred in the late afternoon of Jan. 29 when Bob Pierson, of Landenberg, let his 10-pound Yorkshire terrier, 'Nicky,' out in his back yard. ... Rabies verified in southern Chester County By: David Kisela 03/04/2004 Fourth infected raccoon reported this year With a ...
- Cat tests positive for rabies after biting Lumberton officer Charlotte Observer - Jan 30 4:02 PMLUMBERTON, N.C. - A stray cat has tested positive for rabies after scratching one and biting a Lumberton police officer.Officer Duane Hunter, was bitten Jan. 24 when he captured the cat.
- Rabies case No. 5 reported; stray beagle has to be euthanized
(Salisbury Post, North Carolina)03/01/04
http://salisburypost.townnews.com/articles/2004/03/01/news/01-rabies_case-number_5.txt - Raccoon tests positive for rabies (Venice Gondolier, FL)
02/28/04
http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/articles/2004/02/21/top_stories/2fox.txt - Eight rabies cases confirmed in Dare County (Outer Banks, North Carolina)03-05-04
http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/articles/2004/02/21/top_stories/2fox.txt - Dog tests positive for rabies in Molino area
Elk Valley Times, TN - Feb 24, 2004
- Rabies warning issued after Garrison woman is attacked by raccoon Putnam County Courier, NY - Feb 26, 2004
- PUPPY TESTS POSITIVE FOR RABIES
Tyler Morning Telegraph, TX - Feb 6, 2004
The first domestic dog in Smith County to test positive for rabies in recent years
was reported Friday by the Northeast Texas Public Health District, resulting ...
- Rabies cases not yet crisis in the Valley
Arizona Republic, AZ - Feb 3, 2004
It sounds scary that a bobcat and a fox with rabies recently were found
near Cave Creek. Rabies is a deadly viral disease that affects ...
- Raccoon With Rabies Found In Hamilton County
The Chattanoogan, TN - Feb 2, 2004
A raccoon that was killed in a fight with a dog in the Tyner/Highway 58 area has
- More rabies cases feared
Times Picayune, LA - Feb 6, 2004
... A cat brought in to the St. Bernard animal shelter early Thursday showed
potential signs of rabies, shelter operators said. Residents ...
- THIRD POSITIVE TEST FOR RABIES CONFIRMED
Tyler Morning Telegraph, TX - Feb 9, 2004
The third animal testing positive for rabies in Smith County this
-Zamboanga alarmed over increase of rabies deaths
Mindanao Times, Philippines - Feb 17, 2004
Four people had died of rabies last year from out of the 916 recorded cases of dog
bites in this city, or an alarming 50-percent increase in mortality compared ...
- Stray cat found in Charlotte neighborhood has rabies, vet ... WCNC (subscription), NC - Feb 16, 2004
By WCNC.com Staff. A stray cat turned into the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police
Animal Control Bureau last week has rabies, police said Monday. ...
- Second and third rabies cases confirmed
Palm Beach Post, FL - Feb 10, 2004
... range and a raccoon that lost a fight with a dog in suburban West Palm Beach have
been confirmed to be this year's second and third rabies-infected animals in ...
- Biè: Rabies Reaches Alarming Proportions At Kamacupa District AllAfrica.com, Africa - Feb 17, 2004
... Local health sources informed that, last month, dogs infected with rabies have
bitten at least four people at Piloto locality, outskirts of Kuito city. ...
- Ill-fated skunk becomes county's first '04 rabies case
Brattleboro Reformer, VT - Feb 4, 2004
... A wild chase at a Terrace Street residence on Friday ended with a dead skunk,
a smelly yard and the county's first confirmed case of rabies this year. ...
CDC Info on Skunk and Raccoon Rabies in the Eastern United States:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol9no9/02-0608-G4.htm I hope you're not suggesting that AQ is behind the outbreak of Rabies, which has been a cyclical problem here in the Northeast for as long as I can remember. Back in 1993, there were dozens and dozens of reports of rapid skunks, raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. The number of reported incidents then declined over the next few years and now it is back on the increase and in a few years it will go down again, and then back up again, etc. Sort of like economic cycles and global warming.