by nashvillebrook » Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:10 pm
(this has been floating around since last nite. there's also a note in the DU thread that Bush was not in DC on the 24th, the day of the march, because he was doing a biological terror exercise. i haven't confirmed that, but thought it was interesting. -- brook)<br><br><br>UPDATE: Biological Agent-DC 9/24/05]<br><br>I have spoke with another source at the CDC. They have confirmed the<br>situation. I have updated list of symptoms and information as well as<br>the area it showed up in and the time frame of exposure. Health<br>officials are downplaying the risk but advise if anyone has the symptoms<br>to seek treatment immediately:<br><br>The agent Tularemia (that is the proper spelling) was detected in the<br>mall area of DC between the US Capital and the Lincoln Memorial (this is<br>per the Washington Post). Anyone in this area between 10am 9/24 and<br>10am 9/25 may have been exposed to low levels of the deadly bacteria.<br><br>The symptoms include: (per the CDC)<br>Headaches<br>Sudden Fever<br>Chills<br>Muscle and joint pain<br>increasing weakness<br>dry cough<br>swollen or painful lymph nodes<br>swelling around the eyes<br>ulcers on the skin or mouth<br>sour throat<br>trouble breathing or respiratory arrest<br>it can develop into pnemonia (bloody flem in that case) over time<br><br>Symptoms normally occur within 3-5 days of exposure but could occur all<br>the way up to 14. The CDC has advised October 5th as the day by which<br>if you have not developed symptoms you are in the clear and do not need<br>to be concerned.<br><br>It is not known to be transmittable from person to person, only through<br>direct exposure to the agent itself.<br><br>It is confirmed through blood or flem samples through laboratory tests<br>which may take up to 48 hours. In some cases it may be treated before<br>results are known.<br><br>It is treated through antibiotics, specifically tetrocycaline (may not<br>be spelled right).<br><br>Please be on the lookout for the symptoms and seek medical treatment if<br>you have them.<br><snip><br>==============================================<br><br><br><br>Here is the article the Washington Post has picked up about this<br>situation and information from the CDC on Tulameria. More than six<br>sensors in DC picked up the biological agent and only on the day we were<br>all there for the anti-war demonstration. This raises many questions<br>and we need a solid investigation into this incident.<br><br>From the Washington Post:<br><br>Biohazard Sensors Triggered<br><br>Mall Germ Levels Likely Not a Threat<br><br>By Martin Weil and Susan Levine<br><br>Washington Post Staff Writers<br>Saturday, October 1, 2005; Page B01<br><br><snip><br><br>Health authorities in the Washington area were notified yesterday that<br>the bacteria were found in and near the area between the U.S. Capitol<br>and the Lincoln Memorial, where crowds gathered Saturday for an antiwar<br>rally and a book festival. The notification, which came from federal<br>health officials, said that after the initial detection, subsequent<br>tests "supported the presence of low levels" of the bacteria. However,<br>officials also said they did not believe the findings posed a health<br>problem.<br><snip><br><br>Health officials said the usual incubation period for tularemia is less<br>than a week.<br><snip><br><br>Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle ache, joint pain, dry<br>cough and conjunctivitis.<br><snip><br><br>But he said it was puzzling that the finding was from a day when the<br>Mall was packed with people.<br><br>"Why that day? That's what is not explained," Pane said. "It was just<br>this 24-hour period and none since."<br><snip><br><br>Tularemia is not spread from person to person. It can be contracted by<br>direct contact with the bacteria that cause it -- by swallowing them or,<br>if they have been suspended in air, through inhalation.<br><br>The germ that causes tularemia is considered a biohazard because it is<br>highly infectious and was tested in the 1960s by the United States as a<br>biological weapon. The disease is treatable with antibiotics but, if<br>left untreated, can be fatal. <snip><br><br>More than a half-dozen sensors operating from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10<br>a.m. Sunday -- at sites including the Lincoln Memorial, Fort McNair and<br>Judiciary Square -- detected the bacteria, Pane said he was told.<br><br>He said the CDC expected to notify hospitals nationwide as a precaution<br>because so many people came from out of town to the Mall last weekend.<br><br><snip><br><br>Authorities recommend that people who visited the Mall between 10 a.m.<br>Sept. 24 and 10 a.m. Sept. 25 should see a physician if they experience<br>symptoms.<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4941928#4943536">www.democraticunderground...28#4943536</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>