From the Not Milk Man

THIS IS NOT GOOD NEWS

Remember that irresistible little blonde girl (Heather O'Rourke) in the
1982 movie Poltergeist? She touches her parent's television screen and
eerily announces:

"They're here."

Well, middle America, I've got some extremely disturbing news for you.

Something equally frightening is here, and your diet is about to change,
big time. You may soon be exploring the joys of tofu.

GOT ANTHRAX?
Let's compare Anthrax to Foot and Mouth (Hoof and Mouth) Disease, shall
we? Compared to Anthrax, Foot and Mouth Disease is that cute little
baby dog playing with a ball of string in the front window of the mega
mall puppy mill store. Anthrax is Stephen King's CUJO with an acute case
of manic depression. Do I have your attention? I hope so, because we've
got Anthrax in America.

When Foot and Mouth Disease plagued England, American meat producers
feared that an outbreak in the United States might have meant an end to
our meat industry. Now that USDA attempts to contain an Anthrax
epidemic, a news blackout protects the meat industry from a food panic,
the likes of which has never been experienced in America.

Humans do not catch Foot and Mouth Disease from infected animals. That
factoid didn't stop concerned British
regulators from destroying millions of animals this past year. However,
humans can catch Anthrax from infected Animals. Remember how the army
vaccinated American soldiers during the Gulf War? They were terrified of
Anthrax. The Pentagon considers Anthrax to be one of the most deadly of
all potential biological weapons.

Which brings us to the state of terror in the state of Minnesota.

Sunday's (August 19, 2001) Minnesota
Star Tribune newspaper reported:

ANTHRAX BLAMED FOR CATTLE DEATHS
State officials have discovered Anthrax infected cattle in 12 different
herds throughout northwestern Minnesota. So far, 85 animals have been
destroyed. Entire herds have been quarantined. Right about now, how
delicious does that
Land O'Lakes butter sound to you? Did you know that the Häagen-Dazs Ice
Cream Company is headquartered in Minnesota? How about a cup of their
new Super-Max Anthrax?

HOW DOES ONE GET ANTHRAX?
Anthrax infection can occur in three ways: Through skin, inhalation,
and through food.
Anthrax spores can live in the soil for many years and humans can
become infected by inhaling Anthrax from contaminated animal products.
Humans can also get Anthrax by eating meat from infected animals. The
first case of Anthrax in Minnesota was discovered seven weeks ago.

Why are we now just learning about this? The United States Department
of Agriculture is good at keeping secrets. Perhaps they believe that the
people selling McDonald's hamburgers deserve a break today. I do not
share that philosophy. Will the news get out? Only one newspaper has
reported this blockbuster story. The rest have quarantined truth. The
only avenue of free information left to us all is the World Wide Web.
Please use it!

News of deadly Anthrax infestation in America's meat industry might
create a whole lot of new vegetarians.

According to the story, the Anthrax is spreading to deer. Will the deer
carry the disease deep into the woods and
then spread it to other farms?

Stay tuned.
Robert Cohen

Anthrax in its concentrated forms is one of the most disturbing-sounding toxins I've ever heard of. Yipes!

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You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised. I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge. Psalm 119:65-66 NLT

If it starts spreading through people, they'll start dropping like flies.

Cases of anthrax have been seen in Texas, North Dakota, and Florida. These are not believe to be caused by terrorism, but are spontaneous infections.

"Anthrax can be caught by handling infected animals, eating contaminated meat or breathing in anthrax spores. All forms are rare, but the most recent cases — including ones in Texas and North Dakota — have been so-called cutaneous cases resulting from handling animals."

Read the story at ABC News

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Jesus is the joy of living
_________________________

Linda

The Florida man died at 4PM on 10-05-01. Authorities still see no reason to link it with terrorism. It is the first human case in a quarter century.

More Anthrax cases have been found in Florida. Interestingly, it seems to have infected the offices of the Tabloid Newspapers! No kidding!

Here's the latest from CNN:

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Health officials made a public plea Monday for employees of a local tabloid publishing company to be tested for exposure to anthrax after two samples taken over the weekend showed the presence of the bacterium.

The American Media Inc. building remained sealed Monday after a sample from the building and from another employee showed the presence of the bacterium that causes anthrax.

About 300 people work for American Media, publisher of The National Enquirer and other tabloid papers, said Dr. John Agwunobi, the state health secretary. He urged all employees and those who may have spent more than an hour in the building since August 1 to report for testing.

Robert Stevens, a photographer for one of the newspapers, died Friday of inhalation anthrax, which causes severe respiratory problems. He checked into the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, Tuesday.

RESOURCES
Get more information on anthrax from the CDC





The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is heading the investigation into how Stevens contracted the disease.

As a result of the ongoing investigation, Agwunobi said, officials discovered a second individual was exposed to Bacillis anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax. He said the man had anthrax spores in his nasal cavities, but that the man had not shown any clinical symptoms.

At least one sample from within the building has also tested positive for the bacterium, Agwunobi said. An emergency management spokeswoman said the samples being taken from inside the building include air samples.

The FBI, which also is investigating the source of the anthrax, said there is "no evidence" either the anthrax case or the finding of a sample in a different employee is linked to terrorism.

"Every step is being taken to quickly identify the bacteria's source and determine how individuals were infected," an FBI statement said.

Agwunobi urged employees and visitors to the building to be tested at the Del Ray Beach Health Center, where they could also receive educational materials about anthrax. They could also receive preventative antibiotics, which significantly decrease the risk of contracting the disease if taken before symptoms develop.

People who were briefly in the building -- dropping off or picking up packages, for instance -- need not be tested, Agwunobi said.

Health officials stressed the disease is not contagious from one person to another.

Stevens fell ill after a recent trip to North Carolina but a Florida state epidemiologist said he did not believe Stevens contracted the disease during his trip because the incubation period for anthrax is between six and 45 days, a period which would not have included his trip.

Anthrax -- considered to be a potential agent for use in biological warfare -- is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis and most commonly occurs in cattle, sheep, goats, and other herbivores. Humans can become infected when they are exposed to infected animals or tissue from infected animals.

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.

And they still say it's not terrorism. They must be forgetting that one of the terrorists lived only a mile away from the victim that died. Would have been easy to deliver a "package" before he hijacked the airliner. How stupid do they think we are?

Especially to a media outlet! This sounds a lot like the early denials at Walkerton, Ontario. 2,000 people got sick and at least 7 died before people began taking notice over there.

Some are saying that if something like that (e-coli in the water system) happened now people would first suspect terrorism rather than incompetance.

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.

Now there's a 3rd victim.

October 9, 2001 -- An anthrax scare gripped the nation yesterday as a third employee of a supermarket tabloid was said to be exposed - and the FBI probed frightening reports of an odd e-mail from a departing intern about "a little present" that he left behind.
The FBI announced it had taken over the investigation as a possible criminal - or terrorist - attack.

Three employees of American Media, which publishes The National Enquirer and other supermarket tabloids out of Boca Raton, Fla., told The Post that the FBI wants to question a summer intern who left the company recently after sending out an e-mail to employees saying thank you and "I left you all a little present."

A top executive at the company said the intern was believed to be from Sudan and was on an exchange program at a local college.

At the time, no one thought anything of the intern's e-mail, but in the wake of the anthrax scare, employees are now concerned, they said.

The FBI is also investigating a strangely worded letter received by the company that contained a "soapy, powdery substance" in the shape of a Star of David, Newsweek has reported. The letter was handled by two of the people who contracted anthrax, the magazine said.

All employees and people who were in the building in the last 60 days were told to take antibiotics for the next two months to fight off infection.

As scary as all of this is, will America ever get so security-concious about another deadly substance--nicotine?

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.

Another day another incident:

Suspicious Incident at Md. Subway
The Associated Press
Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2001; 1:19 p.m. EDT

TEMPLE HILLS, Md. –– A Metro subway station just outside Washington was closed Tuesday after an armed man scuffled with a police officer and a jar with an unknown substance fell onto the platform, officials said.

Fire department hazardous-material teams in protective rubber suits responded after several people reported being sick.

Mark Brady, a Prince George's County Fire Department spokesman, said a man dispensed some type of product in the subway station.

"That product made people on the train sick, with dry throats and nausea," he said. About 15 people were isolated.

Officials who run the Metro subway system said a scuffle broke out between a transit officer and man on a train after the passenger pulled a knife and gun. The train stopped at the Southern Avenue station on the Green Line and the fight continued onto the platform.

Transit police took the man into custody. Officials said the officer and the armed man were not injured.

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.

At present there are 3 known cases in Florida, including the man who died. There is now a case in New York of a woman who works for NBC who has cutaneous (skin) anthrax. Government officials have not yet found any links between the two ourbreaks and the terrorist acts of 9/11. Only time will tell.

The Centers for Disease Control has information about anthrax , including symptoms of the 3 kinds of infection. I am placing the symptoms list in the Heath section of the forum.

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Jesus is the joy of living
_________________________

Linda

I have put information in a topic Information About Biological and Chemical Weapons in the Healthy Living forum.

What evidence is there that it cannot be transmitted through tofu?

DrD:

Well..........!!!

Can it?

__________________________
In His Love, Mercy & Grace

Daryl

I know that a case in the 70's involved a man playing bongo drums who caught the infection because the drums were made of animal skin. Now let's watch out for leather shoes, belts and...

Tofu...well, maybe there's a "vegetarian" mutation just around the corner.

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.

As of today there are 18 known cases of anthrax, 3 deaths, and many infected buildings in New York, but especially Washington, D.C. The news is now saying that the anthrax in the Daschle letter was highly refined, contained a substance used by Iraq to keep the anthrax spores from clinging together (depending of who you listen to), and about 2 grams of them were in the letter.

The latest victim is a 61 year old woman with inhaled anthrax who works at a NY hospital. No one knows how she acquired the disease, as the previous cases have either been postal workers, or media employees.

I'm starting to look at my mail and wondering. . . .

They've found Anthrax in Indianapolis as well now. It is definitely spreading over a wider area. This seems totally bizarre considering the previous patterns.

I predicted that the Anthrax incidents would be an American version of Ontario's Walkerton tainted water scandal which killed 7 people and made 2,000 sick.

In Walkerton the first method of public disclosure was to calm people down. Now, almost 2 years later it was a major factor in our Premier's resignation.

Already I'm hearing that it (the Anthrax crisis) could cost the post office billions. Remember it is economic stuff that is prominent in all of our end-time scenarios.

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.

[This message has been edited by Andrew Marttinen (edited October 31, 2001).]

There doesn't seem to be any real Canadian connection yet!

__________________________
In His Love, Mercy & Grace

Daryl

[This message has been edited by Daryl Fawcett (edited October 31, 2001).]

The "Canadian Connection" I referred to was the the way people and the government have responded to the health matter. After Walkerton people began to be less trusting of the government to keep them physically healthy. To see the way the level of concern is escalating on all fronts, read the following from today's Washington Post:

Indeed, the closer scientists look at the spores that have traveled through the mail, the more impressed and concerned they have become. Alan Zelicoff, senior scientist at the Center for National Security and Arms Control at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, said investigators need to begin to focus less on the microbiology than the physics, which is impressive.

"We didn't think that anybody could come up with the appropriate coatings for anthrax spores to make them float through the air with the greatest of ease," Zelicoff said, adding that exposing 28 people with a single opened envelope "is no mean trick."

And C.J. Peters, director of the Center for Biodefense at the University of Texas at Galveston, said that someone who has learned to produce two grams of anthrax spores milled to one to five microns -- as was true of the spores mailed to Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) -- could just as easily produce two kilograms of the stuff.

He sees the potential for a grander terror.

"With two grams of finely milled anthrax," Peters said, "if you can disseminate it in a closed system like a subway or building, you could infect hundreds of thousands of people."

The anthrax crisis has forced scientists and health officials to reconsider other verities as well, including the number of spores it takes to cause inhalation anthrax. Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), the Senate's only physician, who has steeped himself in bioterrorism, said no case has so alarmed him as the death of Nguyen. And he suggested that scientists discard the existing assumption that it takes 8,000 to 10,000 spores to infect someone.

"I'd throw it out the window," Frist said.

Scientists and public health officials have said in recent days that they believe that age, health and even how deeply a person breathes could affect whether they become infected. A 1993 study by the Office of Technology Assessment concluded that "1,000 spores or less can produce fatal pulmonary anthrax in some" people.

More important than the number of spores may be the bacteria's ability to travel through the air and into the lungs.

"If you're far away or the wind has dispersed it significantly, it gives you a considerable advantage," said Stephen S. Morse, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.

For now, officials find themselves less certain about a disease that, although treatable, has the potential to cause many more deaths.

"In hindsight, this has been an escalating event," said Mohammad Akhter, executive director of the American Public Health Association. "We will continue to see new cases of anthrax disease. We do not have a complete handle on who was exposed."

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.

Just to show things haven't changed--parents have nothing to fear, they say:

BRANTFORD, Ont. (CP) — Health officials spent yesterday testing children at a southwestern Ontario school after a student died, possibly from E. coli contamination.

Bob Hart, the Brant County Health Unit's Director of Environmental Health Inspection Services, said inspectors visited Major Ballachey School after Hamilton authorities notified them that a five-year-old Brantford, Ont., girl died at a Hamilton hospital on Tuesday.

The death is suspected to be attributable to E. coli 0157:H7, the same bacterial strain that killed seven people in Walkerton in the spring of 2000.

Despite the alarming news of the girl's death, Hart said parents have nothing to fear.

"There's absolutely no risk to anybody at the school at all," he said.

Hart added that there's "nothing to indicate a common source in the area" where the girl lived.

Part of the health unit's investigation will require follow-up with the unidentified child's family and her doctor.

Hart said it's not unusual to come across cases of E. coli at this time of year, though fatalities are rare. A bacterial strain that comes from contact with untreated animal waste, it can be contracted through untreated or poorly treated drinking water or from eating undercooked meat.

Hart said a health unit bulletin will be distributed to people in the area where the girl lived to provide facts about the bacteria and dispel rumours.

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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.