Replies

Umm, except for anyone DIRECTLY infected by terrorist action--can't be too many of us--we're only as much at risk from this as we would be from natural anthrax, which is very little. It is NOT very contagious as far as person-to-person contact goes. The most dangerous way to contract anthrax is by deeply inhaling very fine spores, and I think we'd be seeing a LOT MORE cases of it if the terrorists had had a good distribution system.

We're looking at a very serious INFLUENZA (flu) season this year. Given the fragile state of our economy and how edgy everyone will be about flu-like symptoms, it makes sense to take some precautions to protect yourself and your family. I think national attention needs to be paid to the behaviors that spread flu and the common cold. I am writing to President Bush to ask him to address the nation on how simple soap-and-water and the voluntary isolation of the sick could do wonders to slow any epidemic, natural or unnatural.

As for this thread, nobody has posted a link to anything that suggests that the FBI has really come out and said this is a terrorist attack. I myself don't think the FBI NEEDS to say any such thing--there has probably been an attempt by the enemy to infect our land with anthrax, and in my opinion it's shaping up to look like a failed attack. (I know the victim's family won't feel that way, but a successful attack would have thousands down by now.)

This thread is NOT a news thread and will probably be pulled if TPTB actually look at it and see that it is not linked. But I wanted to post this: even genetically engineered anthrax is still NOT going to be easy to catch. Even a very contagious disease can be STOPPED after the first or second wave if we pay attention to our bodies and seek to protect ourselves from germs in the old-fashioned way: wash your hands and avoid touching door handles and fixtures in public bathrooms. Make sure you have GAtorade and cold/flu/fever/cough/diarrhea remedies in your medicine cabinet NOW because if this does turn into the kind of flu season experts are predicting, drug stores may be OUT. That happens in NORMAL flu season and this is not a normal time! Tell your employers you want sick employees sent home. This isn't the time to mess around with that.

But really, these are things we should do every cold/flu season. If there is or is not an enemy bioattack in progress, it makes no real difference to how we should BEHAVE.