21st Century Complete Guide to the Anthrax Attacks and the FBI Amerithrax Investigation, The Case Against Dr. Bruce Ivins for the Anthrax Bioterrorism Attacks in 2001, Anthrax Coverage (CD-ROM)

This electronic book on CD-ROM presents a complete reproduction of the court documents and evidence released by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI about Dr. Bruce Edwards Ivins, suspected of perpetrating the anthrax attacks in 2001. In presenting these documents, Jeff Taylor, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, stated: "These search warrants confirm that the government was investigating Dr. Ivins in connection with the attacks, which killed five individuals and injured 17 others in 2001. Dr. Ivins was a resident of Frederick, Maryland, and a long-time anthrax researcher who worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, known as USAMRIID. Dr. Ivins died of an overdose on July 29, 2008, and, at the time of his death, was the sole suspect in the case. Our investigation had begun to shift to a particular laboratory at USAMRIID in 2005 and began to focus on Dr. Ivins as a suspect in 2007. In the weeks prior to his death, we had been in conversations with his attorneys regarding the direction of the investigation because we believed that based on the evidence we had collected, we could prove his guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Based upon the totality of the evidence we had gathered against him, we are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks... for these attacks... We were able to identify in early 2005 the genetically-unique parent material of the anthrax spores used in the mailings. As the court documents allege, the parent material of the anthrax spores used in the attacks was a single flask of spores, known as "RMR-1029," that was created and solely maintained by Dr. Ivins at USAMRIID. This means that the spores used in the attacks were taken from that specific flask, regrown, purified, dried and loaded into the letters. No one received material from that flask without going through Dr. Ivins. We thoroughly investigated every other person who could have had access to the flask and we were able to rule out all but Dr. Ivins. As a renowned expert in the production and purification of anthrax spores, Dr. Ivins was one of a handful of scientists with the capability to create spores of the concentration and purity used in the attacks." In addition to the Amerithrax evidence, there is current and comprehensive coverage of anthrax and bioterrorism, with a unique compendium of the best available U.S. government and military information on anthrax. Topics covered include: overview; history and significance; description of agent; clinical features; signs and symptoms; diagnosis; treatment; prophylaxis; decontamination and isolation; outbreak control; and laboratory identification. Anthrax is a highly lethal infection caused by infection with the Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. In naturally-acquired cases, organisms usually gain entrance through skin wounds (causing a localized infection), but may be inhaled or ingested. Intentional release by belligerents or terrorist groups would presumably involve the aerosol route, as the spore form of the bacillus is quite stable and possess characteristics ideal for the generation of aerosols. There is extensive coverage of the DOD program to vaccinate American soldiers against anthrax.