An Evaluation of anthrax as a weapon of bioterrorism

An Evaluation of Anthrax as a Weapon of Bioterrorism
Introduction
Since September 11th, terrorism has featured regularly in the media causing widespread alarm. Since the postal attacks in the winter of 2001, in which Bacillus anthracis spores were delivered by mail to targets of terrorism, attention has turned to the possibility of terrorist attack using bioweapons.
Bacillus anthracis : The Organism
Bacillus anthracis spores, the initial infective agent of the disease anthrax are 1-2ƒÝm by 0.5-1ƒÝm in size(3). Once implanted the spore germinates into the vegetative cell, a gram positive, facultatively anaerobic bacterium(1). These non-motile vegetative cells are 1-8ƒÝm by 1-1.5ƒÝm in size(2) and secrete three toxin components: lethal factor (LF), oedema factor (ED), and protective antigen (PA)(1) (see fig1).
1) Bacillus anthracis 2)
EF PA LF



3)
Anthrax: The Dis...