Posted on 10/17/2001 7:47:05 AM PDT by maquiladora
If this stuff is as refined and sprayable as would seem to be indicated by the report.....they are just playing with us for now.
If they have sprayable stuff, they could do some different and interesting things....
Or so maybe we are to be lead to believe???
I'm a bit worried about tomorrow, the 18th. This is the day that the group, who bombed the embassies in Africa, gets sentenced.
Remember that the letter that was received by the NY Times reporter said something about "in 4 weeks", and that letter was postmarked on Sept. 18. Tomorrow is 4 weeks from then...
Well, yes and no.
Pulmonary anthrax is VERY rare. Most doctors (such as myself) have never seen it. When cases have developed in the past, the patients ALWAYS had symptoms before they were diagnosed and treated. Based on that experience, it appears that if the antibiotics are not started until the patient is "sick" (i.e. shows flu-like symptoms or respiratory failure), then, in fact the mortality rate is extraordinarily high--perhaps almost 100%. If treatment is started immediately--i.e., when the suspected exposure occurs, therefore prior to the development of symptoms, it appears that the mortality is much lower. This is based on the natural history of the disease, which requires several days for the spores to "germinate" (grow) and produce toxins in the lung and bloodstream.
In other words, it depends what you mean by "timely."
As an aside, I agree that much of the reporting of this has been substandard and uninformed. However, the response of the government has been disappointing, as well. While anthrax occurs naturally, it is not endemic in hooved animals or soil east of the Mississippi. For Tommy Thompson to suggest that drinking from a stream in North Carolina, or hanging out in the Florida swamps, could cause a case of pulmonary anthrax, was uninformed and irresponsible.
JMHO, UMMV, MOUSE
If left untreated, yeah. But given the fact that people are now being blasted with antibiotics the moment they find some talcum powder on an airplane, it's not likely that many people who have been exposed to airborne anthrax are going to remain untreated for very long.
So far, we seem to be doing a great job of identifying actual exposures within hours of their occurrence, and rushing antibiotics to everyone who was within a hundred yards of the place. As a result, it's unlikely that many people are even going to get sick, much less die.
Irradiate all mail. Sterilize the $hit out of it. We have the technology.
You heard it first, right here on FreeRepublic.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
I agree wholeheartedly, and when I tried to get a petition going on another thread for deportation I was told I had sunk to a new low. When are people going to get their heads out of their a---
Just an observation from a Freeper.
g
Sunshine destroys anthrax spores, but very little else does. Heat doesn't, radiation doesn't. It's resistant to explosives. That's precisely the reason why anthrax was developed as a weapon, because it's tough, whereas most bacteria and viruses are fragile.
One of the unintended benefits of the current crisis, is that in the past congressional staff and their elected officials always seemed to want to ignore email and only really count, hand written hardcopy. I think a lot of staff will want to encourage the sending of "virus/bacteria" free electronic mail as opposed to the type that can make one sick.
Back on thread, I hope that very high Gamma or beta radiation serilization equipment is installed in major postal facilities and at major government buildings as it would bring this to a conclusion pretty quickly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.