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Anthrax is an
imperfect weapon because it is hard to obtain and disperse. |
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It is extremely difficult
to transform the Bacillus anthracis into a weapon for mass
destruction. |
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It is one thing to
have anthrax and another to infect people with it. |
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To make anthrax
into a powder needs sophisticated technology. |
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You can not contact
anthrax by touching a door-nob or stair railing or any other
object. |
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Anthrax spores can
survive for almost 24 hours in the air when spread as as airborne
aerosol. The spores are killed by the sunlight. They may persist
for years if buried in the soil. Although the anthrax spores can contaminate
the building surfaces for several hours, they would adhere to the
surfaces and would be unlikely to reaerosolised to cause pulmonary
infection. |
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To make the anthrax
stain into its most leathal form - pulmonary anthrax the spores
have to be of exact size. B. anthracis spores as airborne
particles < 5 um in diameter need to be deposited
directly into the alveoli or alveolar ducts ( the remote location
in the lung ) of the lungs. If the spores are too small they would
be exhaled out during breathing and would not be able to do any
damage. Larger size spores ill not be inhaled and would not reach
the exact site of the lung to start the disease process. |
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Bombs carrying
anthrax may not be effective in dispersing the germs because the
explosion would destroy them. |
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Spreading the
bacterium with aerosol is a hard task. Unless it is in the form of
spores it cannot be sprayed. In this context the attempt by Aum
Shinrikyo cult of Japan to kill people traveling in the metro
trains by spraying mist of Anthrax can be mentioned. The attempt
did not succeed. The members of this cult squirted the agent in
its liquid form. In this form the bacteria is less likely to
reside in the victims' lungs. |
