The terror of anthrax has gripped the United States and Canada, yet at the time of writing, only four people have died and three anthrax-laden letters have been found. Is this a case of a near miss by terrorists or exaggerated fear stimulated by media and public health authorities?

Anthrax is not contagious amongst humans. Robert Koch discovered it was caused by a bacterium (Bacillus anthracis) in the late 1800s. The Bantam Medical Dictionary describes anthrax as an "acute infectious disease of farm animals caused by B. anthracis, which can be transmitted to man by contact with animal hair, hides or excrement. In man the disease either attacks the lungs, causing pneumonia, or the skin, producing severe ulceration." However, Koch did not show that the bacteria alone can cause disease outside the unnatural case of direct injection. Many infectious disease specialists assume that a pathogen alone can cause disease and they ignore the health and environment of the victim. The presence of the anthrax bacteria alone is not sufficient for infection. The first cases in Minnesota cattle since 1909, for example, were associated with drought conditions.

Three letters containing anthrax spores have caused a massive hunt for anthrax spores in the US. It was assumed that finding anthrax in these places was highly unusual even though nobody had ever looked before. However, given that anthrax spores persist in soil for years after outbreaks, they must blow around in the air, so it should be expected that they would be found in many dusty corners.

The US Centers for Disease Control is recommending that everyone exposed to an area believed to be contaminated with B. anthracis should be given antibiotics. The first drug of choice is Bayer’s Ciprofloxacin. It’s very lucky for this company that, a few months after withdrawal of their cholesterol drug Baycol due to a suspected 52 deaths, another fluorinated Bayer drug has suddenly become a top seller. According to the Vancouver-based "Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children" (e-mail: pfpc@istar.ca) apart from the normal gastrointestinal side-effects arising from intensive treatment with antibiotics, this class of drugs, including Cipro, is also associated with liver and kidney failure and musculo-skeletal disorders.

Says Bill Sardi, PhD, "The side-effects of Cipro-like drugs may be worse than anthrax. The overuse of antibiotics like Cipro will only hasten the early demise of millions of humans worldwide as more germs mutate and become resistant to these drugs, permitting bugs like E. coli, Enterococci, Staphylococcus, Helicobacteri pylori, and yes, even anthrax, to escape treatment and increase morbidity and mortality."

The anthrax vaccine may be an even worse option. The one manufacturer in North America (BioPort) was shut down by the US Food and Drug Administration for violations of quality standards in 1998. Yet, this has not stopped the US and Canadian military from continuing to make anthrax vaccinations mandatory. Canadian soldier Mike Kipling refused them and was court-martialled. US Air Force physician Captain John Buck, MD, also objected and was convicted of "willfully disobeying an order." He was not allowed to present evidence that, according to Meryl Nass, a practising physician with a background in epidemiology as applied to biological warfare, "The vaccine presently available has caused long-lasting medical illness in a significant proportion of those who receive it." (Visit the Anthrax Vaccine Network at www.anthraxvaccine.net or Dr Nass’ website at www.anthraxvaccine.org for more info.)

Humans have always lived with bacteria-like anthrax in their environment. A strong immune system is the key to stopping bacteria from causing illness. Panic leads to stress and unhealthy habits, which can significantly contribute to a decline in immune system functioning. Apart from a healthy diet, adequate exercise and avoidance of toxic chemicals (including many pharmaceuticals), the best antidote to anthrax is not to swallow the terror being fed to us by public health officials and the media.

Anthrax is a Lousy Weapon

Anthrax is a “gram positive” bacterium, meaning the cell walls are harmless, unlike the cell walls of “gram negative” bacteria, which attack tissue. Anthrax can only attack tissue by producing a special toxin that it excretes as a waste product. One cell or spore does not produce enough toxin to start an infection. (Woolsorter’s disease is a serious infection of the skin or lungs by B. anthracis, affecting those handling wool or pelts.) Woolsorters inhale anthrax spores continually (150 to 700 per hour), and only if they get a large dose will an infection begin. You’ve got to inhale at least 10,000 spores to get sick and so far, no one has been able to deliver that amount to large concentrations of people. It has been tried. Remember the Japanese Aum cult that released nerve gas into a crowded subway? They first attacked Tokyo with anthrax and botulinum toxin–eight times between 1990 and 1993 from trucks and rooftops. Nothing happened. Plus the nerve gas was ineffective. They killed 12 people out of tens of thousands in the subway. All but one of those who got sick recovered. They must have been terribly disappointed.

Source: Ted Koren, DC. korenpublications.com.

David Crowe is president of the Alberta Reappraising AIDS Society at 403-220-0129 or www.aras.ab.ca .

Source: alive #231, January 2002