AMERICAN COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND HEALTH
1995 Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10023-5860
Tel. (212) 362-7044 • Fax (212) 362-4919
URLs: http://www.acsh.org • http://www.HealthFactsAndFears.com
E-mail: acsh@acsh.org
ANTHRAX:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Presented by the staff of the
AMERICAN COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan,P r e s i d e n t
Dr. Gilbert Ross, Medical and Executive Director
Ashlee Dunston, Assistant Director of Public Health
Art Director:
Yelena Ponirovskaya
October 2003
THE AMERICAN COUNCILIN SCIENCE AND HEALTH (ACSH) A P P R E-
C IATES THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE REVIEWERS NAMED BELOW.
ACSH accepts unrestricted grants on the condition that it is solely responsible for the
conduct of its research and the dissemination of its work to the public. The organization
does not perform proprietary research, nor does it accept support from individual corpo-
rations for specific research projects. All contributions to ACSH—a publicly funded
organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code—are tax deductible.
Individual copies of this report are available at a cost of $5.00. Reduced prices for 10 or
more copies are available upon request.
Copyright © 2003 by American Council on Science and Health, Inc.
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other
means, without permission.
Donald A. Henderson, M.D., M.P.H.
Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies
John S. Parker, M.D.
Science Applications International Corporation
Marc Siegel, M.D.
New York University School of Medicine
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
Introduction
“Single Greatest Biological Warfare Threat”
What Is Anthrax?
How Is Anthrax Treated?
The Weaponization of Anthrax
Anthrax in History
The Sverdlovsk Incident
Anthrax Attacks in Japan and the U.S.
Identifying and Handling Suspicious Mail
Anthrax Vaccine
Q’s and A’s
Contact Information
References