23 AUG 2017 (13:17 UTC-07 Tango 06)  01 Sharivar 1396/30 Dhu l-Qa’da 1438/02 Wu-Shen 7th month 4715

“To our surprise, almost 40% of all animal deaths in Taï National Park we investigated were attributable to anthrax.”-Emmanuel Couacy-Hymann, Ivorian Animal Health Institute.

It’s been two years since I wrote about the bacteria anthrax, and guess what?  There’s a new mystery “hybrid” version popping up in tropical Africa.

This is significant because anthrax was never considered a tropical disease.  Reports say a new strain of anthrax is wiping out the chimpanzee population in Ivory Coast.  Other animals are being killed as well.  The new bacteria was actually discovered in 2004, it was considered harmless then, being called Bacillus cereus.  It evolved into a new type of anthrax called Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis (Bcbva) by somehow acquiring anthrax DNA.

In Zambia, hunger is being blamed for 5-hundred human cases of anthrax, five people died.  The outbreak took place in 2011.  Hippos suddenly died-off and starving people ate them.  The hippos died of anthrax, you can’t cook out the anthrax bacteria so the people who ate the meat got sick.  Well fed researchers discovered that if a person is starving they’ll eat infected food even knowing that it could kill them: “For them finding a dead animal when they’re running low on food reserves at home seems like a good thing. This is why a lot of people took the risk even though they might get anthrax. But my feeling is they weren’t thinking about that risk. They were thinking about how nice it would be to feed their family.”– Melissa Marx, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

In 2016 Russia‘s Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Яма́ло-Не́нецкий автоно́мный о́круг) was hit by a massive anthrax outbreak, 115 people infected, one person died.  The Ministry of Defense deployed chemical units to decontaminate the region using 30 tons of ‘biologically active agents’, as well as evacuate humans.  This year about 800-thousand reindeer will be vaccinated against anthrax.  Interestingly the area is one of Russia’s largest oil producers.  Scientist are blaming the 2016 outbreak on a reindeer mass grave: “There are thousands of such cattle graves across Russia and many of them are inside the Arctic Circle.”-Sergey Netesov, Novosibirsk State University

In 2016 a Russian scientist blamed the Yamal-Nenets outbreak on global warming, and it’s just the beginning: “The rock and soil that forms the Yamal Peninsula contain much ice. Melting may loosen the soil rather quickly, so the probability is high old cattle graves may come to the surface.”-Mikhail Grigoriev, Permafrost Studies Institute-Academy of Sciences

In the European country of Romania two people are confirmed sick with anthrax.  Investigators think the husband and wife got infected by animals.

In the Bajaur Agency of Pakistan 26 livestock died of anthrax, vaccination of remaining livestock is underway.  Apparently military forces had to protect the veterinarians sent in to vaccinate the herds.

In Nepal, a pregnant rhino found dead in a forest tested positive for anthrax.  Administrators of Chitwan National Park are concerned about a possible anthrax outbreak because since 2016 at least 25 rhinos suddenly died.

In Saskatchewan, Canada, a woman was charged with 83 counts of sending anthrax in the mail!  Apparently it was some kinda complicated bad joke because a woman from South Carolina, United States, posted a video saying “We made those packages together, with the cookies and rockets and tissue paper. People will think the baking soda is anthrax.”  The woman from South Carolina said she was paid to make the video and that she was told it was  a promotion for a book.  She also contacted police in Saskatchewan, but was told the investigator she needed to talk to was on vacation.  The Saskatchewan woman pled not guilty to the 83 charges.

In United States, so far 13 cows have died in Pennington County, South Dakota.  Increased cases of anthrax killing livestock being blamed on climate change.  News reports say the cows died “rapidly” and people are being told to avoid animals that suddenly died.  Vaccination of herds is underway.

Last week the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) confirmed five cows infected in Crockett County: “Producers are encouraged to remain vigilant and consult with their local veterinary practitioner if they suspect their animals are affected with anthrax or are interested in vaccinating their livestock.”-Susan Rollo, TAHC

In Maryland, the biotech company Altimmune took over biodefense company PharmAthene, both companies specialize in vaccine research for influenza, hepatitis and anthrax.

Remember when the U.S. Army got caught shipping live weaponized anthrax to Republic of Korea (South Korea)?  Scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have combined holographic microscopy with with ‘deep learning’ (artificial intelligence, AI) to create a way to quickly detect weaponized anthrax, within seconds.   This is important because current methods can take a full day or longer.  The downside is that the AI detector is, at this point, only 96% accurate with only one strain of anthrax, and there are dozens of strains.

CBRN=Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear

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