Brazilian police curious about mystery bag (sailor didn't die of anthrax, but questions remain)

Halifax Daily News ^ | April 30, 2003 | Chris Lambie

[Fred Mertz]

What happened to the reports of the health care workers falling ill? The ones that retrieved the body.

[Shermy]

http://timesargus.nybor.com/Story/35943.html

Anthrax anxiety hits home in Vermont
October 19, 2001

By WILSON RING

The Associated Press

BURLINGTON — Vermont’s health commissioner said Thursday her department had recommended that 60 people undergo antibiotic treatments for possible anthrax exposure.

Commissioner Dr. Jan Carney emphasized, however, that the recommendation was a precaution and it was unlikely that the substance found on Northwest Airlines Flight 5908 was anthrax.

Nonetheless, the state was following a protocol established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that called for the antibiotic Cipro to be prescribed when cultures taken from the substance grew into bacteria related to anthrax.

The state recommended treatment for the 44 passengers and three crew who had been on the regional commuter jet that arrived around midnight Monday from Detroit.

The same recommendation was made to baggage handlers and emergency personnel who responded to the airport, bringing the total undergoing treatment to 60.

“Preliminary tests on Tuesday of a powdery substance found on the plane showed no evidence of spores,” Carney said, “but further tests have shown growth of a bacillus or rod-shaped bacteria of the same genus as the bacteria that causes anthrax.”

“This bacteria growth means that the substance could be anthrax,” she said. “We believe that it is possible, but unlikely.”

There are between 40 and 50 bacteria in the same family as anthrax and final testing may well show that it was a bacteria other than anthrax on the plane, Carney said. That testing is expected to be completed “by dinner time” Friday, Carney said.

A Northwest spokesman said the powdery substance was found on luggage that was stowed beneath a baby’s diaper bag.

The fact that bacteria had grown from the substance “is not a surprise to us,” said Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch. “An aircraft cargo compartment is not a sterile environment. It’s a bacteria that’s a common bacteria.”

The Northwest jet that was involved remained on the tarmac in Burlington, although the state has not ordered it quarantined, Carney said.

.....

[Shermy]

Very interesting...of course it may be "anthrax" - and his tests are faulty, info out of date, or definitions to strict.

[Shermy]

Possibly. Maybe just the plain ol' stuff.

I'm looking on the web for anthrax "related" germs that are deadly - can't find any.

[Dixie Mom]

"It is a bacillus of the same sort of the anthrax, but of different species"

Check out this article, dated today, from newscientist.com:

Harmless anthrax relatives conceal deadly weapons

[Mitchell]

"It is a bacillus of the same sort of the anthrax, but of different species."

I suspect that this isn't translated correctly. The Portuguese reads:

"É um bacilo do mesmo gênero do antraz, mas de espécie diferente."

I believe a better translation would be:

It is a bacillus of the same genus as anthrax, but of a different species.

In other words, it's Bacillus something, but not Bacillus anthracis.

However, my memory is that the other species of the genus Bacillus don't cause terrible illnesses, but maybe I'm wrong and there is one that does.

[Mitchell]

What do anthrax tests actually test for? Tissue infected with B. cereus that had anthracis plasmid inserted would presumably test positive for anthrax toxin. But it probably would test negative using some sort of antigen/antibody test.

Note that this discrepancy between tests is exactly the type of thing we're seeing out of the Brazilian investigation.

[Allan]

pingaling

[FairOpinion]

"Are people just hoping it's some fluke disease this guy picked up? How often to people drop dead from unknown bacteria that turn their insides to jelly?
And how often does it happen to Arabs on ships that were associated with terrorism threats just 2 months previously? "

----

Exactly. That is why there is plenty of reason for concern, rahter than the attitude "Oh, it's not anthrax, so there is no threat, we can go back to sleep".
So they guy doesn't have a suitcase full of anthrax, but a suitcase full of some bacteria, which may be even more lethal. Whoopie!

[FairOpinion]

Very interesting.

If more is known, i.e. they actually identify the bacterium, or there are more news that it doesn't look like any known bacterium, whatever, please ping me.

Looks like you are really finding all the good stuff. I'd hate to miss the latest.

Thanks.

[geopyg]

And I can't figure out the lax attitude regarding the suitcase (duffle, container, package...). It sounds like the ship has landed (or will be soon) in Canada and the Mounties are saying "we're not looking for a suitcase (full of anthrax) because we weren't asked to look."

[Shermy]

From "Diario Do Para", Belem, May 1

Egyptian was not victim of the anthrax FINDING OF INSTITUTE EVANDRO CHAGAS MOVES AWAY HYPOTHESIS, BUT IT DOES NOT CLARIFY CAUSE OF THE DEATH The director of Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEC), Manoel Soares, discarded the possibility of the Egyptian Ibrahim Sayed Solimam Ibrahim to have died victim of the bacterium of the anthrax. The finding technician divulged yesterday for the IEC says that the bacilli found in the body of the Egyptian are not compatible with the one of the anthrax, even so the Evandro Chagas does not know still which the species of bacillus caused the death of Ibrahim. "All the laboratoriais examinations that we made in the victim had given negatives. All they had pointed in the direction of the absence of the bacillus anthrax ", said Manoel Soares. The examinations had been carried through by the sectors of Bacteriology and Pathology of the IEC in specimens of vísceras and 5 ml of blood removed of the corpse of Ibrahim during the autopsy carried through in last day 12, in Instituto Médico Legal (IML), about 30 hours after the death of the Egyptian. The delay in the collection of the members of the victim, according to Manoel Soares, can have intervened with the result of the finding. According to it, the fragmentos of vísceras, when analyzed for the IEC already they showed one high state of destruction of the fabric and, therefore, more susceptible to present bacterial colonies, what of fact it occurred "fabrics present bacterial colonies in relation to which cannot be moved away the possibility to be related with badly state of conservation of the collected material", wrote Manoel Soares in the finding technician. The material analyzed for the Evandro Chagas was the same of the morphologic examination made by the credential laboratory of the Legal Medical Institute, whose resulted it more than pointed 90% of possibilities of Ibrahim to have been contaminated for the anthrax. The director of the IEC, however, affirmed that only the morphologic examination is not enough to close a diagnosis therefore exists diverse species of sorts of bacilli and the anthrax is only one of them. PF liberates body Although the examinations have not found the bacterium of the anthrax in the organism of Ibrahim, the director of the IEC informed that the Institute will continue searching the material collected in the body of the Egyptian. Taking in consideration the not ideal state of related specimens for the laboratoriais procedures, we will continue the research, launching hand of alternative disgnostic technologies aiming at the identification of eventual pathogenic agents or contaminantes gifts in the received samples ", informed Manoel Soares. The Egyptian Ibrahim Sayed died in last day 11, in the ship Wadi Alarab, anchored in Port Trumpets, in the west of Pará, with suspicion to have been contaminated for the bacterium of the anthrax. according to crew of the ship, the Egyptian would have manipulated a suspicious package to contain the bacterium and that it would have to be delivers in Canada, where the ship today meets and the members of the crew in comment restrained. Ahead of the conclusion of the IEC, the department of Federal Policy, in Pará, liberated the body of the victim for transfer and continues waiting the result of the research to restore the police inquest that goes to select the circumstances of the death. Cláudia Aragão



http://www.diariodopara.com.br/cidades/cid_07.htm

Egípcio não foi vítima do antraz

LAUDO DO INSTITUTO EVANDRO CHAGAS AFASTA HIPÓTESE, MAS NÃO ESCLARECE CAUSA DA MORTE

O diretor do Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEC), Manoel Soares, descartou a possibilidade do egípcio Ibrahim Sayed Solimam Ibrahim ter morrido vítima da bactéria do antraz. O laudo técnico divulgado ontem pelo IEC diz que os bacilos encontrados no corpo do egípcio não são compatíveis com o do antraz, embora o Evandro Chagas não saiba ainda qual a espécie de bacilo causou a morte de Ibrahim.
"Todos os exames laboratoriais que fizemos na vítima deram negativos. Todos eles apontaram na direção da ausência do bacilo antraz", disse Manoel Soares. Os exames foram realizados pelos setores de Bacteriologia e Patologia do IEC em espécimes de vísceras e em 5 ml de sangue retirados do cadáver de Ibrahim durante a necropsia realizada no último dia 12, no Instituto Médico Legal (IML), cerca de 30 horas após a morte do egípcio.
A demora na coleta dos membros da vítima, segundo Manoel Soares, pode ter interferido no resultado do laudo. Segundo ele, os fragmentos das vísceras, quando analisados pelo IEC já mostravam um elevado estado de destruição do tecido e, por isso, mais suscetível a apresentarem colônias bacterianas, o que de fato ocorreu. " Os tecidos apresentam colônias bacterianas em relação às quais não pode ser afastada a possibilidade de estarem relacionadas com mal estado de conservação do material coletado", escreveu Manoel Soares no laudo técnico.
O material analisado pelo Evandro Chagas foi o mesmo do exame morfológico feito pelo laboratório credenciado do Instituto Médico Legal, cujo resultado apontou mais de 90% de chances de Ibrahim ter sido contaminado pelo antraz. O diretor do IEC, no entanto, afirmou que somente o exame morfológico não é suficiente para fechar um diagnóstico pois existem diversas espécies de gêneros de bacilos e o antraz é apenas um deles.

PF libera corpo

Embora os exames não tenham encontrado a bactéria do antraz no organismo de Ibrahim, o diretor do IEC informou que o Instituto continuará pesquisando o material coletado no corpo do egípcio. Levando em consideração o estado não ideal dos referidos espécimes para os procedimentos laboratoriais, continuaremos as pesquisas, lançando mão de tecnologias diagnósticas alternativas visando a identificação de eventuais agentes patogênicos ou contaminantes presentes nas amostras recebidas", informou Manoel Soares.
O egípcio Ibrahim Sayed morreu no último dia 11, no navio Wadi Alarab, ancorado em Porto Trombetas, no oeste do Pará, com suspeita de ter sido contaminado pela bactéria do antraz. Segundo a tripulação do navio, o egípcio teria manipulado um pacote suspeito de conter a bactéria e que deveria ser entregue no Canadá, onde o navio hoje se encontra retido e os tripulantes em observação.
Diante da conclusão do IEC, o departamento de Polícia Federal, no Pará, liberou o corpo da vítima para traslado e continua aguardando o resultado da pesquisa para instaurar o inquérito policial que vai apurar as circunstâncias da morte.

Cláudia Aragão