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Further Reading:
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FBI,
Amerithrax
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NTI, Jason Pate
and Gary Ackerman,
"Assessing the Threat of Mass-Casualty Bioterrorism" |
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Michael Barletta,
Amy Sands, and Jonathan Tucker,
"Keeping Track of
Anthrax: The Case for a Biosecurity Convention"
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CNN,
Anthrax
Investigation
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NTI, CNS,
BW Terrorism Tutorial |
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UCLA, Dept. of Epidemiology,
American
Anthrax Outbreak of 2001
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Strategic Studies Institute,
Milton Leitenberg,
"Assessing the Biological Weapons and Bioterrorism
Threat" |
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CRS, Michael Simpson,
"Anthrax-Contaminated Facilities: Preparations and
Standards for Remediation" |
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Once a largely theoretical threat, bioterrorism has become a reality
since October 2001. Letters containing the deadly anthrax
bacterium Bacillus anthracis were sent through the mail to
prominent politicians and people in the media. Eleven people were diagnosed with inhalation anthrax, five
of whom died. Another 14 people were diagnosed with the cutaneous,
or skin, form of the disease; none of these persons died. The victims included postal
workers and other individuals who came into direct contact with
the letters as well as cases of cross-contamination. DNA analysis
of the anthrax spores used in the letters narrowed the investigation
down to the Ames vaccine strain, acquired in the early 1980s by Fort Detrick's
Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the
primary U.S. bioterrorism research facility. The Ames strain has
been shared with about a dozen other labs in the United States, Canada, and
Great Britain for research purposes. Despite a massive
investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and
postal inspectors, no arrest has been made in the case dubbed
"Amerithrax." The investigation has focused on 20-30 "persons of
interest" within the United States who may have had access to and
experience with anthrax, particularly scientists connected with Fort
Detrick, Maryland.
Why are these attacks important?
The anthrax letters were an entirely new phenomenon. Despite
hundreds of anthrax hoaxes prior to 2001, this was the first time
that actual anthrax spores had been used in the United States. These
anthrax incidents were small-scale, and apparently intended to
frighten rather than kill large numbers of people. Since 2001, there
have been many hoaxes, where the senders claim to be sending
anthrax, but actually enclose a harmless white powder. In many
cases, hazardous material teams respond to the hoaxes at great cost
to the public and disruption to businesses. The U.S. government has
allocated billions of dollars to detecting and combating anthrax and
other biological weapons. The U.S. Postal Service has installed
machines across the country that monitor the mail for anthrax or
other biological agents. Some experts argue that the huge U.S.
spending on bioterrorism is out of proportion to the threat.
The Perpetrators
As of November 2006, the identity of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the
2001 anthrax
attacks remains unknown. The Federal Bureau of Investigations
continues the Amerithrax investigation with 17 agents and 10 postal
inspectors working on the case. The fact that the same strain of anthrax
appears to have been used in all the attacks suggests that they
all originated with the same individual, group, or organization.
There has been a debate about how sophisticated the perpetrator
had to be to produce the highly concentrated anthrax used in the
attacks. The FBI
released a
profile
of the suspect in an effort to enlist public assistance in the
investigation.
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