Posted on 10/21/2001 10:34:13 AM PDT by Brian Kopp DPM
A short primer on viral disease transmission. Many viral diseases are transmitted via fomites:
fomite
SYLLABICATION: fo·mite
PRONUNCIATION: fmt
NOUN: An inanimate object or substance that is capable of transmitting infectious organisms from one individual to another.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from New Latin fmits, pl. of Latin fmes, tinder, from fovre, to warm. See dhegwh- in Appendix I.
In other words, you touch something, get the virus on your hand, then touch you face, mouth, nose or other mucus membrane.
Candy wrappers would be a perfect fomite because the act of handling the candy wrapper occurs immediately before the contact with the mouth.
In other words, no need to inject anything.
Just a light dusting of smallpox virus in the form or a powder. If done correctly it would be undetectable.
And unlike anthrax, which requires thousands of huge bacterial spores be inhaled into the lungs, relatively few microscopic smallpox viruses would be required. And nasal exposure would be sufficient to cause full blown infection, whereas nasal exposure with anthrax is relatively harmless.
No trick or treating for my kids this year.
News/Current Events
Source: Bergen NJ Record
Published: October 20, 2001 Author: MITCHEL MADDUX and PETER POCHNA
Posted on 10/20/01 11:17 PM Eastern by spycatcher
"We have been advised and we are looking into the incident of a gentleman buying large quantities of candy," said Sandra Carroll, an FBI spokeswoman in Newark.
Carroll declined to identify the purchaser, but indicated that he is in federal custody for immigration law reasons not related to the purchase of the candy.
"I cannot comment on INS detainees," Carroll said.
Carroll said it would be premature to draw conclusions about the purchaser's intent for the candy, which agents had not found by Friday night. She declined to describe the candy.
"We have no evidence or information for us to suspect there is any reason to cancel scheduled events," Carroll said when asked if the FBI had concerns about the safety of Halloween. "However, the public is encouraged to remain alert but calm."
Hackensack police took a report from Costco about the candy purchase at the Hackensack store at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday. The police then contacted the FBI.
"They told us to stay out of it," said Hackensack Police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisa.
Zisa said the FBI had already learned about the purchase. A local Costco manager had reported the incident to corporate headquarters, near Seattle, and had sent a videotape from a store security camera, Zisa said.
An official at Costco's corporate headquarters said Friday night that no one was available to comment on the matter. Another Costco official, who declined to be identified, said such large purchases from the chain of wholesale grocery and household goods stores are not uncommon.
Kerry Gill, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark, said he could not discuss the case because of confidentiality policies.
News/Current Events
Source: snopes.com
Published: Oct 20 Author: Snopes.com
Posted on 10/20/01 6:26 PM Eastern by earaiak
No kneejerking allowed. So far it hasn't been unsubstantiated. Check out the snopes site for more info: The Candy Man
1. The FBI is involved and has taken people into custody over this... Middle Eastern men.
2. We know we're currently under biological attack, and the attacks appear related to the attack on 9/11, with a probable Iraqi connection.
3. We know that Sadaam has developed smallpox as a biological weapon.
So... whatever is happening with these verified candy cases, we know that whatever's going on isn't completely innocent. This is not a case of "nothing to see here folks, please move along."
Well, that WAS my point, wasn't it?
Many convenience stores nationwide are run by or employ foreigners. This IS being paranoid, but if a loose network of sympathizers exists in the USA, it would not be difficult at all to get individually wrapped candy bars back on shelfs somewhere in the USA. My guess is the stuff has not been found because it has already been moved.
And, they can't account for the whereabouts of the $80,000 worth of candy they purchased.
If that doesn't make the radar go up...
My own kids have been looking forward to this a long time.
I am very torn, not wanting to cower in fear and keep my kids in because of our fertile imaginations, and yet my primary raison d'etre is to keep my kids safe.
I mean, it would be possible for even Middle Easterners to want to make innocent profits, selling candy to discounters before Halloween. It would be perfectly plausible for these men to have overstayed their visas a bit.
Yet, we are at war, and we are having mail drops of anthrax at this time. What if anthrax was just the beginning? What if the terrorists have smallpox and wish to use our practice of Halloween to gain easy access to our children? Surely not every neighborhood in the US would be targeted, but how would we ever know which ones were?
Torn between the tin hat and the ostrich.
They could tamper with some of it, and then return it to the stores for restocking, or leave "sealed cartons" at various charity drops, and so forth.
Well, it might be confusing. Or, it might be nation-wide.
If you're wearing a tin hat, what's the FBI wearing?
Large USAF C-17's and C-5's, with spraying equipment, like giant crop dusters, take off from the East coast. Arriving at the Moroccon shore, they turn their sprayers on. The continue to spray; across Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. A few fly South over Sudan. The rest continue to fly East, over the Arabian pennisula. Across the Persian Gulf they proceed over Iran. Somewhere here they're refueled in mid-air by KC-10's. They continue on across Afghanistan and Pakistan. The sprayers are turned off over India, turned on again over Bangladesh, off again over Burma, and finally turned on again over Indonesia.
did I leave anyone out?
At the time, Russia had the only other known sample. Now it is assumed that a couple more terrorist nations have it.
Had the Clinton administration had their way, we would be in deep trouble now. Far deeper than we are.
Louis Farrakhan.
You are so dear. I'm sure my posts would lack "color" if my supply of M&M's dwindled. Very very sad.
Cheers, CC :)
UN's smallpox terror alert War on Terrorism: Observer special Anthony Browne, health editor Sunday October 21, 2001 The Observer Governments around the world have been warned to prepare against a terrorist smallpox attack which could kill millions. The World Health Organisation has told them to ensure they can produce enough vaccine to protect their population against the disease, and is preparing to order mass precautionary vaccination of all citizens. 'The unthinkable is no longer unthinkable and we need to prepare for that,' said a spokesperson for the WHO, the United Nations' health agency. 'There has been a lot of concern ...
9595370 posted on 10/20/01 11:13 PM eastern by Davea
October 20, 2001 A Scramble to Counter Any Threat of Smallpox By MELODY PETERSEN and KEITH BRADSHER fter announcing plans to stockpile 300 million doses of smallpox vaccine, the government must now determine where it can quickly get so much. Under an existing contract, a small Massachusetts biotechnology company called Acambis (news/quote), which has about 150 employees, will produce 54 million doses. Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of health and human services, said this week that Acambis had agreed to speed production so that those doses could be delivered by next summer. Mr. Thompson also said he was negotiating with ...
9578438 posted on 10/20/01 12:00 AM eastern by JohnHuang2
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9323728 posted on 10/8/01 12:14 AM eastern by Bob Evans
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