Anthrax Case Raises Bioterrorism Fears

Independent (UK) ^ | 4-30-2003 | David Usborne

[blam]

Anthrax case raises bioterrorism fears

By David Usborne in New York
30 April 2003

A crew member of an Egyptian freighter has died in Brazil apparently after opening a suitcase filled with anthrax that he was planning to take to Canada. His death has renewed anxiety in North America over the risk of bioterrorist attacks.

Brazilian officials believe the man, identified as Ibrahim Saved Soliman Ibrahim, was given the case before he left Egypt to join the ship, which was loading bauxite bound for Canada. They said the incident appeared to be part of a bioterrorism plot that went wrong.

Mr Ibrahim reportedly opened the suitcase at his hotel in the Amazon state of Para. He became ill and died on 11 April after suffering vomiting, internal bleeding and multiple organ failure.

"He was the victim of anthrax," said a spokesman for Brazilian police. He speculated that Mr Ibrahim opened the case out of curiosity and had no idea what it contained. "We imagine this is about bioterrorism and Brazil was just used as the point of transfer."

Final results from an autopsy were due to be sent to the Canadian authorities last night, but there seemed little doubt that the cause of death was anthrax. Several hospital workers who came into contact with the body became ill but all have since recovered.

The case has raised alarm in Canada, although officials insisted there was no cause for panic. Wayne Easter, Canada's Solicitor General, said the issue was being dealt with "appropriately".

Authorities in the US were also paying close attention. Five people died in America shortly after the 11 September attacks when anthrax was sent through the post to various locations. Police have still to solve the case.

[Cold Heat]

HMMMMMMM! I hope they are wrong.

[Mitchell]

He died of a bug that 'looked like' anthrax.

Did they give any indication what disease they now think it might have been?

Also, who is making this claim?

[Mitchell]

Is the author saying that Cláudio Guimarães reached his conclusion of no anthrax based only on the fact that no one else got sick?

That's what it says. On the other hand, the argument attributed to Malcher that there is a 90% probability that it's anthrax is just as lame -- the reason given is that Ibrahim died of generalized septicemia.

I suspect that in both cases the reporter simply picked one sentence out of a longer argument presented by the person in question. Or perhaps the editor cut a lot out. The article itself is quite brief, after all.

The article does say that the autopsy results will be released tomorrow (Wednesday).

[Allan]

No indication as to what disease.
Claudio Gamerez(sp?)
Director of the Legal Medical Institute
after additional testing was done
in the Capital city of the county
Belum
says that it was not anthrax
but police originally believed
it might be anthrax
because of the gruesome symptoms.

Health Canada has released the ship.

John Batchelor says
"a flash to the people
who have been following this
on the Internet
this story goes away"

I don't totally agree
but I suspect he is being ironic
as usual.

[Allan]

ping

[_Jim]

    Anthrax Case Raises Bioterrorism Fears

YEAH Yeah yeah -

- little chance of that ...

[_Jim]

several hospital workers who came into contact with the body became ill but all have since recovered.

Sniff sniff - and NO ONE else was 'overcome' as they were?

Sniff sniff - were they administered Cipro (or something equivalent)?

Sniff sniff - this ISN'T passing the smell test for Anthrax. Something else, a communicable disease (which Anthrax is not) perhaps, but not Anthrax ...

[Mitchell]

The story isn't going to go away until the name of the disease is announced -- and, whatever it is, it ought to be believable that it was contracted naturally. It would also be nice if there were an explanation for why a new first mate was flown from Cairo to Macapá, but I don't expect that that will be forthcoming.

[Cold Heat]

The problem with this information is that there is NO information!

It is not likely to be a bio toxin because others would have been exposed.

I am guessing some sort of chemical or just a bunch of mass hysteria hype.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[patriciaruth]

bug that looked like anthrax....Clostridium perfringes? Causes gas gangrene.

[patriciaruth]

Possibility here of gangrene of the gallbladder, with secondary septicemia (blood poisoning) due to possibly Clostridium perfringes, which looks like Bacillus anthracis in a Gram stain under a microscope, but is anaerobic (meaning will not grow in air like Bacillus)

[Mitchell]

How would he have contracted that?

[patriciaruth]

Your gall bladder can get cancerous, and then infected or can get blocked by stones and then infected. Germs are always entering your body, through chewing food in your mouth, through cuts in the skin, through breaks in the intestinal mucosa, etc. and they can come to the gall bladder via the bloodstream or from the enterohepatic circulation of bile.

Clostridia normally inhabit the bowels, along with a raft of other bacteria and fungi and odds and ends. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most famous of the bowel bacteria, but Clostridia can get into the blood stream from the bowel and lodge in the organs, especially if the immune system is weak, like if the man had colon or liver or gall bladder cancer.

[Mitchell]

Thanks for the information.

[patriciaruth]

De nada. I learn a lot more than I get to teach around here.

[maestro]

Final results from an autopsy were due to be sent to the Canadian authorities last night, but there seemed little doubt that the cause of death was anthrax. Several hospital workers who came into contact with the body became ill but all have since recovered.

The case has raised alarm in Canada, although officials insisted there was no cause for panic. Wayne Easter, Canada's Solicitor General, said the issue was being dealt with "appropriately".

Was this 'o.k.' given by the 'Toronto' tourist bureau?

/sarcasm

[aristeides]

Note that the article from O Liberal calls Ibrahim an "engenheiro," i.e., engineer. So he might be the '83 engineering graduate of the American University in Beirut that Betty Jo has discovered.

[aristeides]

Os pesquisadores do Instituto evitaram ontem antecipar qualquer prognóstico sobre o trabalho que vem sendo realizando.

Seems to say the investigators wouldn't announce any conclusion yesterday.