Anthrax Island

Recently
by Lizzie Bennett: The
Birds of Plum Island

Fearful that
German forces would attempt to use bioweapons against mainland Britain
scientists elected a small island, Gruinard, half a mile of the
coast of Scotland, to test the effects of anthrax, which at that
time would have been the weapon of choice.

The flock of
sheep put there to test the effects started to die within three
days of the endospores being released. Whilst entirely successful
in proving how deadly inhaling anthrax spores could be it also left
the entire island contaminated for almost 50 years.

A four year
clear up started in 1986 which saw 280 tonnes of formaldehyde, diluted
in 2000 tonnes of seawater saturating the island. Topsoil was removed
from the 520 acre site and taken for disposal in sealed containers.
Sheep were then allowed to graze freely on Gruinard to prove conclusively
it was safe. On April 24th 1990 the warning signs were removed and
Gruinard was no longer considered out of bounds.

A leading archaeologist
cast doubt on this when he publicly stated that he and members of
his team had found anthrax spores on digs that had survived for
hundreds of years. He said:

” I would
not go walking on Gruinard…..it is a very resilient and deadly
disease.”

Indeed it is.
Experts in biological warfare circles estimate that 3 million people
would be killed if just 220 pounds of anthrax were to be released
over a large metropolitan area.

As recently
as three weeks ago anthrax was once again in the news. 50 head of
cattle on a ranch in Logan County Colorado died within a week of
each other. Tests have confirmed that at least one of them died
from anthrax and tests on the rest of the carcasses are continuing
at this time.

There are several
strains of anthrax. Vollum which was used in the Gruinard experiments
is particularly virulent. Vollum 1B was more recently used by UK
and US bioweapons programs. It was isolated from William A Boyles
a scientist who died in 1951 after contracting anthrax a the US
Army Biological Warfare Laboratory in Maryland. The US postal attacks
in 2001 was also a virulent form, the Ames strain.

There
are three forms of anthrax infection. Cutaneous, gastrointestinal
and inhalational.

Cutaneous
anthrax

Cutaneous anthrax
often infects those who work with animals that carry anthrax in
their systems. It used to be called Woolsorters Disease but can
occur after repeated contact with hides and furs as well as wool.
Anyone working with the carcasses of infected animals can contract
the condition. It causes boils that turn black as the condition
progresses. These lesions are painless unless the skin around them
breaks down and the sores usually start as a reddish raised bump
about seven days after exposure. The patients lymph glands may also
swell

Gastrointestinal
anthrax

This is caused
by ingestion of anthrax infected food or drink. Anthrax occurs naturally
in some animals and eating undercooked meat from an infected animal
can give rise to the condition. The symptoms include, nausea, vomiting
which may become bloody as the disease progresses, fever, general
malaise,severe diarrhea which may be bloody, sore throat, difficulty
swallowing and a swollen neck.

Inhalational
anthrax

This is the
most dangerous of all and the death rate is between 75-90% depending
on how fast medical treatment is sought and how aggressive that
treatment is. It starts with flu like symptoms and a feeling of
weight on the chest. This rapidly progresses to a high fever, breathing
difficulties, shock and in many cases meningitis, which carries
grave risks in its own right.

Anthrax is
not contagious from person to person though bodily fluids from an
infected person usually contain the spores in quantities high enough
to infect the person handling them. With this in mind strict barrier
nursing methods should be employed when looking after anthrax patients.
Excreta and soiled bedding and towels etc. should be sealed. Burial
does not kill anthrax spores. Cremation and incineration are the
most suitable methods of disposal.

The treatment
for anthrax infection is a 60 day course of antibiotics. Usually
Ciprofloxicillin, penicillin or doxycycline.

Please note
that none of the cycline antibiotics are suitable for storage. They
become more toxic the further past their expired date they go. Ingestion
of out of date cycline antibiotics can lead to kidney failure and
death.

In 2002 the
first anthrax vaccine was developed in the UK. Since then several
others have become available. Currently they are given to those
serving in the military and research workers that may be prone to
accidental contamination.

In the US a
Congressional Research Services Report states that 10 million doses
of anthrax vaccine is available for civilian use. It is stored in
the Strategic National Stockpile facility although the CDC site
nor the Department of Homeland Security sites say where that is
located. There is no published data regarding how much vaccine the
UK has on hand. It is stored at the Porton Down Research facility
in Wiltshire UK.

Although a
vaccine is available and coverage with antibiotics is effective
in the early stages weaponized anthrax could still cause millions
of deaths if released due to the symptoms of inhalational anthrax
infection not being immediately apparent, and the need for the antibiotics
to be given early on in the disease. The vaccine, whilst available
will do nothing sitting in a shed somewhere. It needs to be out
of the shed and in the people for it to do any good. The vaccine
is fine for those not living where the anthrax was released, they
can take it preemptively but for those on the spot it will be useless.

10 million
doses for a country with over 339 million people, enough for a tiny
percentage of the population to be vaccinated in the event of an
emergency, it might be sensible to up production a bit.

I dare say
the situation in the UK is no better. The drugs certainly work in
the same way, and as with the US a stockpile is not protecting the
people. Allowing the people to have the vaccine if they want it
is protecting the people. I think many, in both countries would
say no if offered, and I can see why they would do that, but once
again, as with most things, the element of choice has been removed.

Freedom is
about choice and increasingly, particularly on matters relating
to our health we are not given any. It seems odd that this comes
from the same group of people who lambaste parents who choose not
to pump their children full of vaccinations, that they are not out
there encouraging everyone and his dog to have the injection.

Take care.

Reprinted
from Medically Speaking.

September
7,
2012