gpg: Invalid passphrase; please try again ... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 on Sun, Oct 21, 2001 at 02:25:35PM -0700, Khoder bin Hakkin (hakkin@sarin.com) wrote:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011021/ts/attacks_anthrax.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - A District of Columbia postal worker is ``gravely ill'' with inhaled anthrax, leading government officials to order testing for as many as 2,300 more mail employees, Mayor Anthony Williams said Sunday.
Further: Frist, R-Tenn., said the man must have been exposed to an intense form of the bacterium, strong enough to move through his respiratory track and deep into his lungs. This leads one to question the descriptions of anthrax as "weaponized" and "non-weaponized", particularly as there are several dimensions of weaponization. The lesser is spore size, with 5 micron being the preferred form for inducing inhalation anthrax. The greater is antibiotic resistance, and it appears that this is the criterion on which statements of "non-weaponized anthrax" are being made. Truth seems to be that resistance is secondary to spore size given the difficulty of treating advanced cases of inhalation anthrax. My suggestion to the press would be to disaggregate the term "weaponized" to its components: inhalable, and antibiotic resistant. This provides the public with more useful information: the bacterium is or is not a grave infection threat (inhalable), and the bacterium is or is not treatable (resistant). This is actionable information: inhalable, but nonresistant, anthrax means that individuals should be aware of respiratory illness symptoms and submit for early diagnosis and/or treatment. The media hype also tends to ignore the fact that anthrax is, in the forms detected to date, largely treatable. Gross attempts at containment (expensive) are less advisable than identification and treatment of exposed individuals (less expensive). Peace. - -- Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/ What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? Home of the brave http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/ Land of the free Free Dmitry! Boycott Adobe! Repeal the DMCA! http://www.freesklyarov.org Geek for Hire http://kmself.home.netcom.com/resume.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE700SJOEeIn1XyubARAp/3AJwIuIEFipM2Fp7SvnMuimaI1y0qPwCePksT syXlLQQ5W0uJE5yIDXHq830= =HJy+ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----