warning!!! be careful with you snail mail! ANTRAX WARNING

[booyah]

Breaking story:

Antrax belived to be delivered in the mail to NBC Employee, received skin infection(non transferable and comparably easily treated) after receiving suspisious letter...

check cnn for more info as it becomes available

[shartley]

That is a very irresponsible post… sorry.

Guess what, nothing you can do will prevent you from getting the Anthrax Virus (Skin form) that was detected… that is, minus using protective gear. SO, saying to “Be careful of your snail mail…” does NO help, only harm by creating anxiety for those who don’t know any better.

The Skin Version is not very dangerous.. the Airborne version IS. However, it is so hard to deploy in the needed amounts to be effective, as well as it being not very predictable.

Also it seems that these cases are TARGETED. But by causing fear and panic, they achieve their goals… Terrorists don’t have that name because it sounds good, it has a meaning. To use terror to gain ones goals.

So, please don’t HELP them by making posts like this, or spreading misleading information.

Thanks.

[booyah]

shartly i disagree with you

I think warning people can be preventative and a skin infection can only be contracted through an open cut.

I'm not meaning to panic people, but if there is any chance of an average joe coming in contact with something like this it very easily could be from a junk mass mail that is so common these days

I dont want to panic people, just to inform them

-Booyah

[booyah]

One thing that has been asked by the nations health practioners is anyone showing unusual symptoms please have it checked. Here is some real information on antrax for those who would like to know. trying to inform, not scare



<b>
What are the symptoms of anthrax?</b>
Symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but symptoms usually occur within seven days.
<b>
Cutaneous:</b> Most anthrax infections occur when the bacterium enters a cut or abrasion on the skin, such as when handling contaminated wool, hides, leather or hair products (especially goat hair) of infected animals. Skin infection begins as a raised itchy bump that resembles an insect bite but within 1-2 days develops into a vesicle and then a painless ulcer, usually 1-3 cm in diameter, with a characteristic black necrotic (dying) area in the center. Lymph glands in the adjacent area may swell. About 20% of untreated cases of cutaneous anthrax will result in death. Deaths are rare with appropriate antimicrobial therapy.
<b>
Inhalation:</b> Initial symptoms may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax usually results in death in 1-2 days after onset of the acute symptoms.
<b>
Intestinal:</b> The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated meat and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Intestinal anthrax results in death in 25% to 60% of cases.
<b>
How soon after infection do symptoms appear?</b>
The incubation period is usually within seven days.
<b>
When and for how long is a person able to spread anthrax?</b>
There are no reports of the disease spreading from human to human. Direct person-to-person spread of anthrax most likely does not occur.



from
http://www.aomc.org/ComDiseases/Anthrax.html

[shartley]

You can disagree all you want, but YOU posted THIS…

warning!!! be careful with you snail mail! ANTRAX WARNING

And that is FAR from just a simple warning, and not to “panic”. And there is SO much involved that it is best to just tell people to watch the News. This AGAIN, was a targeted event, not a random one.

So please, with all due respect, don’t post in a PANIC mode and then come back and act as if you are calm and mild, just providing information. Your post was NOT very informative, but it WAS a bit over the top. I am watching the News on this and it is FAR from being as serious as your Post made it look.

More research and less “jumping to conclusions” should be made.

(added note: Your SECOND Information Post was the NEEDED one, not your first. Thank you for Posting it. :))

[Thordic]

I love mass hysteria...

[booyah]

my apologies about the " warning!!! be careful with you snail mail! ANTRAX WARNING" post title. My intent was to grab attention so everyone would read it and explain it more as more detail became available. I was trying to get attention and get a post out for those who have news not so easily available.

I also included check cnn.com for more info since I wont be able to keep upto date on it after my lunch hour

The second post was what I really wanted people to see, but took a second to find the quote and information

I think we may have reached an understanding here

this thread may have two easy points to it, one the warning
and another, points can be resolved minus flams (Insert "you suck!" "my gun shoots farther" :-))


-Booyah

[shartley]

Very true. :)

[thei3ug]

I haven't checked my mail since the FBI put up wanted posters of me due to my involvement in the sedition riots of '95.

[shartley]

THE FACTS ABOUT ANTHRAX
Forget the hype and hysteria and listen to the facts:

- In the 20th century only 18 cases of inhalation anthrax were reported in the United States, the most recent in 1976 in California.

- Anthrax can't be spread from person to person.

- Already on hand are enough antibiotics to treat 2 million cases of anthrax.

- Bayer is increasing production of anthrax antibiotic, Cipro, by 25%.

- Spores can only be destroyed by steam sterilization or burning, but not by disinfectants.

- Anthrax bacteria can be spread by inhalation and can permeate the skin.

- In humans, anthrax is fairly rare; the risk of infection is 1/100,000.

[thei3ug]

i don't know many people who'd incinerate or put their mail through live steam before opening.

[Shaft]

I now boil all my mail for fifteen minutes. I'm doing my part.
r

[shartley]

Too true..

Like I said, there is not a lot people could do anyway. Just like any other thing that you notice is wrong with you (fever, blisters, etc.) you just have to pay attention, and see a Doctor.

There has not even been an established link between the cases reported and the Terrorist Attack anyway. And contrary to what people think, these things DO happen. Remember, there have only been 18 cases of “Inhalation Anthrax” reported in the US in the 20th Century… but that is NOT the kind reported today. And THAT kind has been reported several times a year.

It is like the Shark Attacks reported off the coast of the US this year. Everyone “thinks” the Shark Attack rate went up.. but actually it went DOWN. Only the REPORTING of the attacks went up. The same thing is happening here.. people will SEE what they WANT to see, NOT the facts. And we need to make sure we don’t feed into the hysteria.

[Thordic]

Good post Shartley, I wish more people would do research.

What people fail to realize is that anthrax is treatable. It is a very dangerous bacteria, but it can be treated if caught early enough.

Think back to the flu epidemics that existed before modern medicine. Flu victims would often die because they didn't have proper medication. Now, when you get the flue, you get medication and dying from the flu is very uncommon. Anthrax, while definitely more potent, can be looked at the same way. If you notice, the first person died because they waited for treatment, and didn't expect it. Now, with anthrax awareness heightened, people will get the proper treatment faster, and it will become less of an issue. Dangerous, yes, but not the end of humanity or anything as drastic as people seem to make it.

Also, there does exist a VERY effective vaccine for anthrax. Every member of the military and a good deal of the members of government recieve the vaccine yearly. One could assume that if this becomes a huge problem, anthrax vaccinations will become commonplace.

The DoD anthrax vaccination program's website is located at http://www.anthrax.osd.mil, go take a look, its actually pretty interesting for a government site :)

[shartley]

Thordic,
Your post was also a good one.. LOL

Now, I bet we could start a panic by publishing the statistics for Deaths Caused by Food Poisoning, and who knows.. the Media might find SOME way to link it to the Terrorist Attack as well.

I hate misconceptions, and I hate people being mislead. Here is another one, yet not related…..

There are famous women who regularly do charity drives to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer. I don’t have a problem with this. I also admit that Breast Cancer is a very important issue.

BUT….. I take issue with the IMPORTANCE they place on the issue. They make it seem as if THAT is them most important issue facing Women these days (as in what they are dieing from). What most people don’t know is that MORE women die of Heart Disease each and every year than Breast Cancer… and by a HUGE amount. But Heart Disease also kills MEN.

So, wouldn’t it make more sense to raise money to fight Heart Disease since that kills more women? And since it also kills MEN, you kill two birds with one stone (no pun intended). But then again, you can be sexist as long as you are not a Man, right?

Points to ponder.

[Thordic]

Yup...

Another thing that bothers me about these knee-jerk reactions people have to these scares.

The goal of terrorism is not to kill off your enemy. The goal of terrorism is to create a fear in the population of such massive proportions that it hinders thier daily lives.

Every person who calls in sick to work because they are afraid of an attack, every person who refuses to fly on a business trip because they are afraid of a hijacking, anyone who lets their fear overcome their enjoyment of life and their course of work, these people are handing Bin Laden a victory.

I don't see Bin Laden winning the war, but I do see him winning all too many battles when people forget that the US is supposed to be the home of the brave.

[slayer]

Thank you booyah, not everyone shares shartley's opinion. I for one, am thankful for the heads up. That doesn't mean that I am going to throw all my mail away, but if I get something from someone I don't know, I may or may not open it. Shartely, I almost understand how you think that this could spread mass hysteria, but I think it is better to be forewarned and alert than stupid to everything.

[shartley]

Slayer,
Thank you for your post. I think you misunderstood what I wrote though. I did NOT say that warning people about it was bad (in fact I said the OPPOSITE)... And since we have already ENDED that issue, and all involved understood the points made (heck, in fact, much more has been posted about FACTS on this issue since the first couple posts, and a couple were MY posts, LOL)... as MajorDamage would say....

ENDO! LOL

(LOL It just fits so many situations.)

[booyah]

slayer,
thats what i was aiming for


I wasnt intending to panic anyone, i was only intending to get their attention and post that batch of facts on antrax

myself and shartly agreed that that was agood thing, he wasnt questioning my reason, just my tactics.


I think he finally found some validity in my tactics, just didnt like them.

-Booyah

[X-Plosive]

I have a kind of mosquito bite on the back of my neck but it doesn't itch like a mosquito bite and I have had it since my 5th period of class.:confused: It feels strange. What should I do? I don't want to get carried away with the hysteria but I mean come on.