What is anthrax?

Anthrax is an infectious, often lethal, disease caused by a spore-forming bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. The bacteria form spores that can live on for decades, sometimes centuries. Anthrax usually infects wild and domestic herbivorous animals which ingest or inhale the spores while grazing. It infects humans who come in contact with anthrax-infected animals or anthrax-contaminated animal products.

What were the ‘anthrax attacks’ all about?

Starting September 18, 2001, a few envelopes with teaspoons of anthrax-contaminated powder were mailed to several media organisations and to Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, both Democrats. The envelopes eventually killed five people, sickened 17 others.

How did the US react to the letters?

Demand for Cipro, the antibiotic that is the standard treatment for the often-fatal disease, soared. The panic spread rapidly as more postal workers grew sick or tested positive for exposure to anthrax. The attacks temporarily crippled mail services and forced the evacuation of federal buildings, including Senate offices and the Supreme Court.

How did the investigation progress?

For seven years, the FBI conducted what became the largest investigation in its history, dubbed “Amerithrax’’. The initial reaction was that the Al Qaeda was involved. But the anthrax in the envelopes was the Ames strain, most commonly used in American bio-defence research. But from then on, the FBI went on a completely wrong track. It wasn’t before 2008 that the FBI narrowed in on Bruce E. Ivins, a scientist who worked at the government’s bio-defence labs at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. Ironically, Ivins was working on how the US would react in case of a bio-terror attack. Investigators began focusing on Ivins last year, after new forensic science allowed them to trace the anthrax back to him. But in July, Ivins took his own life as authorities were preparing to charge him with perpetrating the attacks.

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