Posted on 05/19/2002 8:31:28 PM PDT by abigkahuna
For release May 15, 2002: MEDICAL JOURNAL EXPOSES CUBA'S BIOTERRORISM LINK May Have Been Source of West Nile Virus, Producing Anthrax-Like Toxins
Washington -- Iraq may have unleashed the West Nile Virus in the United States via Cuba through the release of migratory birds infected with the virus, and may be producing antiobiotic-resistant toxins for future attacks, according to two articles published in The Medical Sentinel, The Official Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (Volume 6, Number 4).
In the first, "West Nile Virus - Is Castro's Bioterrorism Threat Being Ignored," author Ernesto F. Betancourt, Castro's Washington Representative in the '50s and former Director of Radio Marti, outlines the possible Cuba-Iraq link.
He cites ornithologist, Carlos Wotzkow, who was fired from Cuba's Institute of Zoology after objecting to the creation of the "Biological Front," an effort to develop viruses that could be carried by host birds or other means into the U.S.
A second article, "Cuba, Castro and Bioterrorism," by Agustín Blazquez, a documentary producer, outlines his claims that "... we clearly see that Castro has used this time to develop weapons of mass destruction in our backyard to be used against us."
Mr. Blazquez cites a previously ignored paper by Dr. Manuel Cereijo, a professor at Florida International University. "In 1992, the [Castro-controlled] Institute of Oceanographic Studies conducted an experiment with the Academy of Sciences to find out which places on the Cuban coast were the best to let bottles and containers reach the United States coast line fastest and most effectively," writes Dr. Cereijo. Further, Dr. Cereijo claims that there are at least 12 Cuban centers producing bacteriological agents located around Havana, and that the U.S. government has had knowledge of these capabilities.
He describes the newest and most notorious, La Fabriquita ("Little Factory") located across the street from the former Naval Hospital. Disguised as an "Animal Feed Plant," one must pass through a station of the Cuban Armed Forces to enter. Dr. Cereijo believes the plant has the capability to produce A-232, an agent more toxic that previous nerve agents, and that La Fabriquita could be producing an anthrax-like toxin totally resistant to antibiotics.
Concludes Mr. Blazquez, "The blackmail potential that this represents renders the U.S. and its people in grave danger and in an almost impotent situation." Other Links "West Nile Virus - Is Castro's Bioterrorism Threat Being Ignored" - by Ernesto F. Betancourt "Cuba, Castro and Bioterrorism" - by Augustin Blazquez Medical Journal Exposes Cuba's Failed Doctor Diplomacy," News Release, 10/11/2000 Doctor Diplomacy Requires Red Pledge, WND.com article - 2/20/2001
What kind of birds were infected in the NYC outbreak? Were they a migratory species and would their route have taken them thru Cuba? And where else on the flyway might they have nested and spread the infection?
As I'm writing, I'm thinking one of the infected birds in Baltimore was a crow...
I wonder - if one of my cats killed a bird infected with WNV, could it be passed on to me?
Because there's nothing remotely resembling credible proof Iraq is directly involved in any of them, and it's a fairly far-fetched concept that West Nile is Iraq; for a "WMD" attack it's pretty pathetic in effectiveness.
Many different species of birds can be infected with West Nile virus. According to a CDC study of 430 birds in the New York City area, conducted in September, 1999, birds of the following species were found to be infected with WNV: Canada goose, domestic goose, mallard/domestic duck, domestic chicken, turkey, mourning dove, rock dove, brown-headed cowbird, and house sparrow. I don't know why crows weren't found in this study, but infected crows have been very common as well. I should add that these species are not particularly closely related.
I don't know about the migratory patterns of these birds, but it would appear that most, if not all, bird species can be infected by West Nile virus (as can many mammals).
This argues against the idea that migratory birds were infected in Cuba and then flew to New York City. If that had happened, we would have seen evidence of West Nile virus at some intermediate locations, earlier than the New York City outbreak or at least in the same time frame. But it's clear that the WNV outbreak first emerged in Queens and spread out from there.
By now it's spread to much of the eastern half of the U.S. It's possible that there were additional introductions in places other than NYC later than the NYC outbreak, but it's perhaps more likely that it just spread out from NYC. Either way, New York City is where it started.
Well, there's no definitive proof, but it's not far-fetched either. It clearly wouldn't have been an attack, as you say, but it could have been a test.
In 1999, before the West Nile virus outbreak in New York City, an Iraqi defector stated that Saddam Hussein was working on West Nile virus as a biological weapon and would unleash it in an operational test shortly. A few months later, the outbreak began in Queens. When the initial defector's report came out, West Nile virus was an obscure disease; the fact that someone would predict its use in the immediate future in a biological weapons test just a few months before an outbreak in New York City, the first ever in the Western Hemisphere, is quite remarkable. (The defector's story differed from the eventual truth in some respects. He had said that there would be a very high mortality rate, and also that the release would be in a third world country. Nevertheless, you can see how these sorts of facts could, and probably would, have been misrepresented. He still came up with the right virus.)
For a source, here's one article. You can find more if you're interested; I presume one could look up Richard Preston's article in the New Yorker, as well as the Iraqi defector Mikhael Ramadan's book. (I haven't read these latter two.)
So where do things stand? It's a possibility; that's all one can say.
But even if it was an engineered epidemic, that does not necessarily mean bio-warfare. It has been alleged that it was discovered that the sheep flock had been infected with a form of "mad cow" disease, and that this was an acceptable way of wiping them out, without alarming the public further. Anything is possible, especially as there is an automatic "cover up" function when governments confront these problems, partly because they don't want a panic, also because they are always covering their own rear.
I can remember that back in the mid 90s (1996?) we had an anthrax outbreak in Australia. I rang my sister, who lives in northern Victoria, and I said "I hear you have anthrax there, is it true?" She said "Yes, but they are keeping it very quiet."
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