Stardate 20011027.1408 (On Screen): Now that they're looking, they're finding anthrax all over in the mail system. I predict what they're discovering in most cases is natural anthrax not related to any kind of attack. Anthrax is actually quite common, and people come down with the subcutaneous version of it quite commonly when they work in close vicinity of sheep and cattle. In most cases, it is entirely possible that products or letters or other objects can be "infected" with anthrax but at such a low level as to represent no health risk whatever. But once the authorities start looking for it using biometric assays as sensitive as the ones they're using, it's hardly suprising that it's showing up all over the place. The problem is gonig to be to determine how much of this is actually the normal background level of anthrax which is basically harmless and how much of it might actually be related to bio-warfare terrorist attacks. Generic analysis is going to show that, but that's slow and in the meantime the effect is going to be to vastly amplify the actual terror caused by the real and deadly attacks, which I suspect are actually far fewer than many people realize.
For instance, in the wake of the death in Florida, authorities in Argentina stated that a vacation flyer received by someone there which was mailed from Atlanta was infected with anthrax. It turned out that it actually was, but it was a wild version not related to the one used in the letters to American Media, Brokaw and Senator Daschle. It's extremely likely that it was in fact natural contamination and totally harmless. Equally, subcutaneous anthrax is actually more common than most people realize, and it is rarely fatal. It just makes someone sick as a dog for a couple of weeks; it's sort of like a very severe case of flu. Some of the cases of anthrax which are being found now are almost certainly completely unrelated to deliberately contaminated letters; they are, rather, normally-occurring cases which probably would not have been noticed were it not for the heightened attention being paid.
The thing to watch for is not simply anthrax infections, but inhaled anthrax; that is extremely rare naturally, and we can assume that those cases will all be the result of deliberate contamination. (discuss)
