The AnthraX Chronicles Part 2 | Pakistan, Rabbit Fever & Duct Tape

Over the next couple of weeks, I will release a six-part series on the world of anthrax….

READ: Part 1

Pipes & Possible Pathogens

“Research is currently on hold,” USAMRIID said in a 2019 statement.

The institute at Fort Detrick is part of the select agent program. The suspended research involved certain toxins, along with germs, which the government determined has “the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal or plant health.” There are 300 labs approved to work with about 66 of these select agents and toxins such as Ebola, smallpox, anthrax, plague, and the poison ricin, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times also stated that there was a lack of periodic recertification training for workers at the biocontainment laboratories in Fort Detrick. Additionally, the wastewater decontamination system had problems with the disposal of dangerous materials and failed to meet the “Federal Select Agent Program” standards. Wasn’t it a big deal that such a high-security lab does not have “sufficient systems in place to decontaminate wastewater”?