[Yaelle]

Do you actually get sick from ricin or just keel over dead? Didn't that spy who got the ricin prick from the umbrella die right away?

This seems like big news; why haven't I heard anything about this?

[varina davis]

The media was pretty guarded with news about it today, though it has been in the headlines on TV tonight.

[KQQL]

"I think there has been an exaggeration," Mr. Kerry said when asked whether President Bush has overstated the threat of terrorism.
SC Dem Debate 01/29/04

[freebilly]

why haven't I heard anything about this?

It was sent to Frist's office. It would be news if it were sent to Hillary's office....

[swilhelm73]

This seems like big news; why haven't I heard anything about this?

Because if this really is Ricin it is almost certainly the work of Islamists. And that would be the anthrax mailings were almost certainly Islamists. And the press really really doesn't want it to be Islamists.

[Bogey78O]

You get sick then slowly die if enough is injested. No cure for it if a lethal dose is administered.

[Dianna]

A package containing ricin was also found at a post facility serving Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina in October.

I don't recall hearing anything about this either.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Stealing Peach's post from the other thread......


The ricin was found a little after 3:00; CNN has said they've known about since shortly after noon (that was the 11:00 p.m. hour when that jerk who anchors said that).

Anyway, link to FNC story - Frist says it's terrorism:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,110243,00.html

[rwfromkansas]

Since it was just another "field" positive until recently.....now looks more serious and newsworthy quite frankly.

It should be the lead tomorrow morning on national programs. If not, the managing editors of some of these shows need to be replaced.

[WestCoastGal]

Depending on the route of exposure (such as injection), as little as 500 micrograms of ricin could be enough to kill an adult. A 500-microgram dose of ricin would be about the size of the head of a pin. A much greater amount would be needed to kill people if the ricin were inhaled (breathed in) or swallowed.

In 1978, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer and journalist who was living in London, died after he was attacked by a man with an umbrella. The umbrella had been rigged to inject a poison ricin pellet under Markov’s skin.

[My Favorite Headache]

CNN was live at 11 to 11:30 covering it Fox News and MSNBC already had the lights turned off til dawn.

[stlnative]

How soon do symptoms appear?
The time from exposure to ricin to onset of symptoms can be from less than 1 hour to 12 hours or greater. Symptoms from poisoning through eating can occur within 2-3 hours. Inhalation poisoning occurs within 3 hours.

What is the treatment for Ricin poisoning?
Ricin poisoning is treated through supportive medical care to minimize the effects of the poisoning.

Where is ricin found and how is it used?
Castor beans are processed throughout the world to make castor oil. Ricin has potential medical uses such as bone marrow transplants and cancer treatment.

WHAT IS RICIN?
Ricin is a poison made from waste left over from processing castor beans. It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. It is a stable substance that’s not affected by extreme conditions such as very hot or very cold temperatures.

SYMPTOMS
Symptoms are determined by the route of exposure and amount received.

Routes of exposure/symptoms:

INHALATION: Difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea, and tightness in the chest, heavy sweating, skin turning blue, low blood pressure, respiratory failure

INGESTION: Vomiting, bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, low blood pressure, hallucinations, seizures, and blood in the urine SKIN and EYE: redness and pain of the skin and eyes Showing these signs and symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has been exposed to ricin.

HOW IS RICIN SPREAD?
It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people. People can breathe in ricin mist or powder. Ricin can get into the water or food and then be swallowed Pellets of ricin or ricin dissolved in a liquid can be injected into people’s body. Ricin poisoning is not contagious. It cannot be spread from person to person.

[FairOpinion]

It takes a while to die, I think symptoms may not appear for hours, but there is no antidote. You got a lethal dose, you die, and the lethal dose is very very small -- I heard it described as an amount of a pinhead. You can also inhale it and die.

[shhrubbery!]

Didn't that spy who got the ricin prick from the umbrella die right away?

IIRC it took a few days for him to die, and during that time he was able to tell investigators about the umbrella incident.

There was a TV documentary about the Soviets testing ricin on their own political prisoners. Amazingly there was videotape (or was it just a dramatization) of one of their victims being sickened with flu-like symptoms, and then dying in the next 2 or 3 days.