There is also another thread on this subject:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/899440/posts There also was a more detailed, updated article posted somewhere, here it is:
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030424.wanth0424_3/BNStory/National Health Canada to force ship into quarantine
By OLIVER MOORE
Globe and Mail Update
A cargo ship sailing from South America to Quebec will be quarantined indefinitely near Halifax after Health Canada learned that a man on board had died of a mysterious infectious disease, which Brazilian health officials fear could be anthrax.
The Egyptian-flagged ship was carrying bauxite bound for Port Alfred, near the Alcan smelters in the Saguenay region, but had to stop briefly in the Amazon Delta after the first officer died. His body was removed and the ship sailed again.
Brazilians conducted a preliminary autopsy on the man’s body and believe that he died of an infectious disease, probably anthrax. The 38-year-old man, an Egyptian whose name has not been released, had reportedly travelled from the Middle East shortly before boarding the ship.
The Atlantic branch of Health Canada called a hasty press conference Thursday to discuss the ship, which is still steaming toward Canada and is expected to arrive around nightfall. Bob Fowler, the regional director-general for Health Canada insisted that the situation is “low risk,” but he was unable to answer many questions.
Mr. Fowler said that he was not aware of any anthrax symptoms among the other crew members — all Egyptian — on the mid-size ship, which is about 225 metres long and normally carries a maximum crew of 38. He said that the Wadi al Arab is steaming toward Halifax at about 14 knots (25 kilometres an hour) and should arrive at Chebucto Head about 8 p.m. Atlantic time. It is not being escorted by Canadian vessels but, once it arrives, will be subject to the quarantine laws of Canada.
“How long will it be quarantined?,” Mr. Fowler asked. “At this point, we don’t know, because we don’t know what we’re going to find until we have [the] opportunity … to see the ship, see its conditions, talk with its master, talk with the ship’s agent and understand the situation better.”
Mr. Fowler said that, to the best of his knowledge, the ship had sailed about 11 days ago, that the man had died within a day or two of departure, and that the ship had left Brazilian waters after a brief stopover to relinquish the body. The ship was apparently cleared to leave by Brazilian authorities, he said.
Alcan spokesman Joseph Singerman said that the company had found out about the ship delay on Wednesday, though not from Health Canada.
“We found out from one of people, involved in security,” he told globeandmail.com. “Obviously when you have transportation of materials there are people involved, and if there’s a delay in transportation they communicate this to head office. We were notified of the delay, we were notified of the death of the first officer — and that’s all we know.”
An anthrax infection is caused by a bacteria that can be found in grass-eating animals throughout Asia, Africa, Central and South America, as well as parts of Europe and North America. The bacteria can live in a dried out form called a spore for years. It is not contagious from an infected person directly to a healthy person.
Thanks. I searched Anthrax first and didnt see anything.
Yours was technically a different article with different title, so I hope the moderator leaves it up, but I wanted to let people know.
The article I posted with the more uptodate info was posted just as a link in the middle of another thread, that's why I reposted it here in full text, so all the info would be in one place.
This story was very interesting to me. I used to be a Merchant Marine officer. Went to Kings Point, out on Long Island.
Hope you have a good weekend also. Sweetliberty should be around here by tomorrow.
If you want to stay alive, don't go near Canada. First SARS and now Anthrax.
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