Posted on 10/17/2001 6:44:12 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 20 people in Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office have tested positive for exposure to anthrax, sources said Wednesday.The tests were conducted after a letter sent to Daschle's office was found to contain a highly refined form of anthrax, suggesting it was produced by experts.
One official with direct knowledge of the test results said 22 Daschle staffers had tested positive for exposure to anthrax. All of them are taking the antibiotic Cipro. Another source said that more than 20 had tested positive. Both sources insisted on anonymity.
The FBI is investigating strong similarities in handwriting and style, including identical anti-American language, between the letter sent to Daschle in Washington and a letter with anthrax sent to NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in New York.
Elsewhere in the country, four people are known to have contracted anthrax and nine others have tested positive for the bacteria.
Hundreds of people were tested Tuesday after the suspicious letter was opened in Daschle's office Monday. Nasal swabs were used on the staffers to see if there were any anthrax spores in their noses. A positive finding does not mean the person has the disease or will get the disease.
About 8,000 spores must be inhaled for a person to develop inhalation anthrax.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said about 200 people on Capitol Hill are taking Cipro because of the anthrax scare, including himself.
Lieberman, who has not tested positive for anthrax exposure, said during a CNN interview on Wednesday that his taking the antibiotic ``is probably unnecessary, but why not?''
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said of the anthrax scare: ``There's no question that right now we are in a period of the unknown.''
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Neither. The swabs or other field tests indicate the prescence of the bacteria on them (or in them). They may or may not develope the anti-bodies, and they may or may not develop an infection.
It means just that -- these are preliminary results. More tests need to be conducted since the first results could be false.
Amen to that.
Good point. Clinton was the most hated president in US history. It is amazing he survived. I had to personally talk people out of armed resistance against him. Bill protected the White House better but that event did not trigger his consideration for other possible targets, did it?
Isn't this precisely what the Health Department and all of our doctors have been telling us NOT TO DO?
Most excellent comment!
Now there's a thought! What if they start lacing cigarettes?
Seriously, I heard on TV that we are supposed to IRON our mail when in doubt. Several passes with a steam iron will kill Anthrax spores.
Whats even more peculiar is that the handwriting on the envelopes sent to Daschele and Brokaw was the same and both were postmarked in the same town in Jersey but Daschele's contained weapons grade anthrax and Brokaw's a weker, less refined sample.
I don't get that one.
I don't think so. They see liberals as the worst of the infidels because liberals support "a more open and tolerant society." Attaching liberals may not make sense strategically for the terrorist from our point of view. But if their goal is all out war with us hoping to motivate the rest of the Muslim world to join in it makes sense to attach those most likely to want a truce. The terrorists will do anything they can to keep us at war with them. The more people get killed the better. They know their only chance to defeat and destroy us is to get the rest of the Muslim world to pick their side and fight against the US and Israel.
Widespread stockpiling is absolutely impossible in the short term, considering our current supply. There is no such thing as "widespread stockpiling" in 2001 - there is only "isolated stockpiling" that leaves a very limited population safe and a much greater population massively vulnerable. This would, in turn, present multiple clear targets for attack.
In the short term (this year) the most effective plan that can realistically be implemented is "strategic stockpiling" - stockpiling in strategc rapid-response locations - coupled with ready avaibility throughout the country. This allows for an evenly distributed, limited vulnerability. The even distribution prevents wide-open targets; the limited vulnerability limits the ultimate effect of attacks.
Once supplies are available, we should definitely move to "widespread stockpiling." Until then, it's just not possible.
OK... Here is the size of 5,000 1-5 micron spores. The period. If I slightly raised my font size to about 16, the size of the period would be a fatal dosage worth of anthrax.
Yeah, RIGHT. About 535 LAWMAKERS are taking Cipro, I'd be willing to wager. Along with all their staff. I don't blame them, I would be too, but why the heck can't these people just tell the friggin' truth?!?!?
BTW, after reading some of the earlier posts on the topic, I went with Doxycycline instead of Cipro. Who thinks I'm making a huge mistake?
MM
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