Anthra

A detailed Summary of Anthra

The world today can be a very confusing place. This especially applies to living in the United States, where one is not really sure which group they belong to, if they belong to any one group at all. With a variety of things constantly tugging at the thin fabric holding the "melting pot" of America together it's amazing how devices designed to permanently shatter those thin bonds actually strengthen them. It is for this reason that the recent terrorist attacks have not destroyed American society. The threat of future attacks as well as the threat of biological warfare cannot defeat lady liberty. The primary function of the threat of biological warfare is not to kill large amounts of people, but rather to create fear and instill a sense of vulnerability in a society; in this case, with the hope of tearing down the loose sense of togetherness we share.

Although we may not be completely prepared to deal with a full-scale biological weapon attack, we do have a set playback for just such an emergency. In the event of the unleashing of a biological weapon, government employees at both the local and state level such as firefighters and police officers will be needed as part of the first line of defense in order to contain fur

Biological weapons are much better suited to causing panic and distrust for one's own government than they are suited for being weapons of mass destruction. The main reason anthrax is one of the most feared bio-weapons is because of how easy it is to make, as well as the numerous ways it may be delivered. It creates a sense of complete and total vulnerability. It is believed by Professor Simon Wessely to be more important "to be combating the psychological threat," involved in biological weapons. He also feels that if the public is well informed about biological weapons, the weapons will lose their effectiveness to instill fear, thus making them relatively useless. Professor Wessely states: "When psychological weapons lose their novelty, they lose their primary potency, which is their capacity to cause fear"

It has become increasingly clear that the Al Qaeda network has scientists working on the manufacturing of biological weapons for use against United States troops. However, most biological weapons, anthrax included, are relatively useless in current day battlefields due to increases in technology and protective suits that may be worn during combat. Also, most soldiers have been vaccinated against anthrax.

Such attacks have been unsuccessfully tried before, in Japan, the Aum Shinrikyo cult who was responsible for killing hundreds of people on the subway system using sarin were repeatedly unsuccessful in delivering anthrax. Finally, if all fifty kilograms of anthrax were to be released on an urban population of approximately five million people, it is feasible that 250,000 people could die. This is, of course, just an estimate taking into account the availability of drugs to treat anthrax, early detection of it, etc.

Bacillus Anthracis, or anthrax as it is commonly known, can be found in several forms. Its most common form is cutaneous. This treatable form is only found on the skin and is almost never fatal. Another form is inhaled anthrax. This form is by far the most deadly, killing ninety percent of those who contract it unless treated in its first stages. The least common forms are oropharyngeal anthrax and intestinal anthrax. These may be deadly in up to fifty percent of cases. The techniques used to accurately diagnose anthrax differ between the fo

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Approximate Word count = 1534
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science