**BREAKING--3rd CASE OF ANTHRAX CONFIRMED!!!!!!!

[newsperson999]

now a criminal investagation...

[mlo]

Does this mean I need to go to the mall again and buy another car?

Only on Halloween.

[republicandiva]

Am I the only one who thinks the Florida Secretary of Health is a tad bit... odd?

He impresses me as someone trying to stretch their 15 minutes of fame into 16!

[hole_n_one]

CNN: Mailroom employee knew man who died "very well"

[Ciexyz]

Thanks, I turned to CNN and am watching some infectious disease specialist talking about it.

[Sungirl]

So how many spores did this woman put up her nose?

[TKEman]

The new one just started. This is the third case of Anthrax, and the third episode of the new show.

[newsperson999]

Don't you love it how they wait until 8:30 at night after the evening news to annouce these things...then 2nd one was annouced at midnight

[Merovingian]

Yes, Dog, here is the link to the ebay Message Board

[Letitring]

FReepers rule. I think the posters screen name is Darlene? Maybe? I'm not sure. BUT, this story was posted here, first. :)

[Dog]

Well....if they wanted to terrorize America....they succeeded....

Look for HUGE headlines in the papers tomorrow...

Bio-warfare has come to America......will someone wake up from this Tom Clancy novel I seem to be living in...

[StoneColdGOP]

No kidding, I saw all I ever wanted to see of him the other day.

Speaking of which, that press conference the other day with him and the other Florida officials was one of the most bizzare things I've ever seen.

[Clinton's a rapist]

You know, by now I would have thought they could have figured out the route this stuff was delivered (waxy Star of David trinket, A/C, sprayed on computer by janitor, whatever) and be giving some useful information. I'm a little bit fed up with being given the mushroom treatment on this.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Yeah, can't have panic. Don't want that.
Now move along folks, nothing to see here.

[Sungirl]

I work right down the street from this Anthrax riddled bldg....and I am not worried one spore. I will bet this happens alot but they only took the time to look into this becuz of 9-11-01. They say they thought it was spinal menengitis...but went a step further in this case...I wonder how many other misdiagnosis's there were.

[republicandiva]

will someone wake up from this Tom Clancy novel I seem to be living in...

I've thought the same thing...then realized I was awake. Welcome to "the world according to osama"!

[GatorGirl]

The vaccine isn't a treatment for anthrax, it's only a prophylactic. It was being administered to military personnel, there was anectdotal evidence that it had alot of side effects, and it was discontinued. Some say they ran out, some say it was discontinued because it wasn't effective and provided a false sense of security. Don't worry about the vaccines, what you need it a bunch of Cipro to treat it/fight it off.

[TomB]

Being 'exposed' to anthrax means that the anthrax bacterium (in this case in the spore form) has been introduced into a persons body, and the immune system has been activated. The person is infected. Implying that mere 'exposure' is rather inconsequential because the infected person haas not yet become symtomatic is, well, rather dumb.

I'm sorry, but you are wrong. If you have been exposed to the b. anthracus spore, you do not necessarily have the disease. The two cases where the spores have been cultured from the nasal cavity are NOT clinical cases. For an anthrax infection to become clinical, a person must ingest at least 8,000-10,000 spores. If someone inhales less, they do not get the disease, but they will show some spore in the nasal mucosa.

Exposure to the spores does not mean you have the diesase.

[the_doc]

You're correct. It is a rod-shaped bacterium. The rod is called a bacillus. The full name of the organism is Bacillus anthracis. Like several other bacillus bacteria, it can form spores when subjected to various environmental stresses. As far as I know, this is not a normal means of its spread. However, if the spores are formed (for example, in laboratory cultures under conditions favoring spore formation), these spores are inhalable.

This is how a person can get pulmonary anthrax rather than the more common and less serious cutaneous anthrax.

I gather from the available literature that the pulmonary anthrax does not promote further spore formation. Hence, pulmonary anthrax is not considered highly contagious.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Of course there is always the possibility of an opportunist with an axe to grind who is taking advantage of a bad situation. Remember the Tylenol/Cyanide tragedy many years ago? He (or she, I cannot remember) was a plain, ordinary mass murderer. Not a terrorist.

[nb : There is a difference--the difference is very, very important in terms of our Constitutional Rights and Due Process].

[dubyagee]

. Some say they ran out, some say it was discontinued because it wasn't effective and provided a false sense of security. Don't worry about the vaccines, what you need it a bunch of Cipro to treat it/fight it off.

I saw a report well before 9/11 that the factory,lab, whatever, didn't pass inspection by the government, so it's product wasn't approved.