South African scientist offers to sell FBI deadly bacteria

Daan Goosen's calling card to the FBI was a vial of bacteria he had freeze-dried and hidden inside a toothpaste tube for secret passage to the US.

From among hundreds of flasks in his Pretoria lab, the South African scientist picked a man-made strain that was sure to impress: a microbial Frankenstein that fused the genes of a common intestinal bug with DNA from the pathogen that causes the deadly illness gas gangrene.

On May 6 last year, Mr Goosen slipped the parcel to a retired CIA officer who took the microbes 12,800 kilometres for a drop-off with the FBI. If US officials liked what they saw, Mr Goosen said he was prepared to offer a collection of pathogens developed by a secret South African bioweapons research program he once headed.

Mr Goosen's extraordinary offer to the FBI, outlined in documents obtained by The Washington Post and interviews with key participants, promised scores of additional vials containing the bacteria that cause anthrax, plague, salmonella and botulism, as well as antidotes for many of the diseases.

This is scary. It shows how easy it is to smuggle biological weapons into the US.

I am glad this scientist offered it to the FBI, and not the terrorists.

It is crucial that we find Iraq's & Syria's biological and chemical weapons.

Here are the links to the two Washington Post articles, they are quite detailed:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58454-2003Apr19.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64518-2003Apr20.html

The Washington Post articles are definitely worth reading.

"U.S. officials considered the offer but balked at the asking price -- $5 million and immigration permits for Goosen and up to 19 associates and family members to come to the United States. The deal collapsed in confusion last year after skeptical FBI agents turned the matter over to South African authorities, who twice investigated Goosen but never charged him."

Can you imagine, the scientist asked for only $5M and the FBI refused?!

We are paying terrorists, for information to get hold of stuff like this, and they didn't want to pay this guy?

I bet Bin Laden will offer him 5 times that!

Seems like our FBI still hadn't figured out that their job is to collect info and PREVENT terrorist attacks.

They should have given the gusy $10M and hired him in the US to work on the bioterror defense area.

Gas gangrene is caused by Clostridium perfringens. It is found in spore form in soil, but only grows properly in an anaerobic environment. A deep cut is ideal. It can also exist in the digestive tract, but doesn't have the same nasty consequences as when it grows in a deep cut.

The ability to smuggle a pathogen is also no surprise. A sealed plastic tube in your pocket will get you right through the standard security screening. Many college labs have access to pathogens by simply ordering them from the American Type Culture. The story is unimpressive to anyone who has taken a simple college microbiology course.

Well, you may not find it impressive, but at the very least it points out how easy it is to make new strains and distribute them, and thus how hard it is to prevent bioterrorism, if somebody really sets their mind to it.

The strain he sent was man made:

"From among hundreds of flasks in his Pretoria lab, the South African scientist picked a man-made strain that was sure to impress: a microbial Frankenstein that fused the genes of a common intestinal bug with DNA from the pathogen that causes the deadly illness gas gangrene."

This post reminds me of an article that made the front page of the Wall Street Journal last week. It was about a scientist/professor who worked for a university in Texas. This scientist/professor conducted research for developing and comparing antibiotics against biological plague-type substances for a university in Texas. He receivied grants for his studies. He was so good, the army hired him to do a study comparison on the best antibiotic against exposure.

Seems the latter part of last year, this guy FedX'd 30 vials of plague toxins to his alternate laboratory somewhere in Africa to conduct his antidote research. He shipped this stuff without proper labeling of package contents as required by law. Right around the same time, the professor filed a report at the university saying 30 vials of his toxins were stolen. He requested that the campus police not be involved.

But campus officials thought it would be a good idea if they did. Last year some of the more sensitive R&D universities participated in anti-terrorist drills. This university was one that did. The official who was notified remembered the drill, and called the campus police. Once they did some checking around, the FBI got involved. The university immediately fired the professor but the FOIA letter had the reason for the firing blacked out. The professor/scientist was last seen being hauled away in shackles by the FBI.

The plague like substance he was studying originated in Africa. The symptoms of this plague have the particular characteristics of pneumonia. According to the story, anyone sprayed with this stuff turns into walking Typhoid Marys, and the effects of this germ works fast and spreads fast. The reporter further went on to say this guy frequently carried vials of toxins with him while traveling around the world. A vial carried through security in his pocket on an airplane.

The article also said that there are over 800 universities in America that are paid to study. The research is funded to develop protection against biological germ warfare. Part of the War on Terrorism is to see that the American population has a chance to survive such an atrocity.

This is a market of death at the expense of the people. The Saddams of this world create this stuff. The US has to research this stuff, find an antidote for the stuff, and then destroy the stuff. The worst part is we have terrorist elements still in the US, as well as some very stupid people, who could do a whole lot of harm if they got their hands on this stuff.

"Seems the latter part of last year, this guy FedX'd 30 vials of plague toxins to his alternate laboratory somewhere in Africa to conduct his antidote research. He shipped this stuff without proper labeling of package contents as required by law. Right around the same time, the professor filed a report at the university saying 30 vials of his toxins were stolen. He requested that the campus police not be involved."
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Amazing! And for everyone they catch,I always wonder how many are out there who aren't caught, and how many people did this guy give the deadly germs to?

With all this, I think it's a miracle we didn't have a bioterror attack, or maybe we had them, just didn't realize what they were or they were covered up, so as not to panic people. ( I read that West Nile Virus appeared in NY as the first place, somewhat suspiciously, and that Castro has been researching it as a bioterror weapon)

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