How to prepare for an Anthrax emergency

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------------------------------------------------- Revised 02/16/2021
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The Anthrax Letters
Anthrax
Anthrax is a bioweapon and there is medicine (antibiotics) to help you in case
it happens. The video above, shares how to handle it.

Anthrax is a quiet threat ~ here's how exposure happens:
Unfortunately, anthrax is a quiet threat in bioterrorism. By this we
mean a "quiet" release of anthrax could be put into powders,
aerosol sprays, food and water. The spores are microscopic and you
may not be able to sees, smell or taste them according to the
Centers for Disease control.

Three biological agents likely be used as weapons include:
  1. bacteria, such as anthrax or botulinum
  2. viruses, such as Avian Flu, smallpox, plague, and the Lassa
    viruses through person to person contact
  3. toxins, with includes any substance produced by an insect,
    animal, plant or microbe. There's a threat that toxins could
    spread by insects and animals, such as fleas, mice, flies,
    mosquitoes and livestock.

  • Food and water. Did you know that Anthrax is a food-borne
    illness? Anthrax could be inhaled or ingested in an act of
    bioterrorism. Learn more about food poisoning.Bio-terrorists
    could target food and water sources. For water you can filter
    through a Big Berkey, but there's not much you can do about
    food sources, other than to stock years of your own food.

  • Air. Anthrax might also be released through the air by car or
    truck, building or plane. Unfortunately it only takes a small
    amount of anthrax to affect large amounts of people.

#4: Put together an anthrax emergency kit.
Something preppers can do to allay some fears is to put together
an anthrax emergency kit. The Centers for disease control
recommend use of respirators, protective clothing, and the anthrax
vaccine. HEPA filters can also be useful...

  • Get a pair of latex gloves. Anthrax has been in the headlines
    for decades, but the threat of anthrax escalated about a week
    after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when envelopes containing
    anthrax spores were sent anonymously to media companies
    and congressional offices. At the time, anyone working in the
    U.S. postal service or an office mail distribution center had
    extra concerns and gloves provided the easiest response. The
    anthrax spores can remain dormant until they find a place to
    multiply, such as on your skin when you open the envelope.
    That's why it's important to get yourself some latex gloves to
    open the mail.

  • Ensure you have protective clothing. First responders will
    most need to have protective clothing to deal with anthrax and
    those who are unprepared will be the first to fall victim. If
    you're an advanced prepper you likely already have stocked
    chemical suits as part of your overall preparedness efforts. In
    a crisis, it doesn't hurt to ensure you have access to those
    supplies.

  • Get NIOSH certified respirators. Since inhalation of anthrax
    is the most potentially lethal, you'll need a NIOSH certified
    respirator. Respirators that are NIOSH Certified can protect
    against Anthrax, SARs and Hautavirus, for example. They  
    have a disposable filter.

  • HEPA filters. Another layer of protection for anthrax is to have
    a HEPA filter handy. A HEPA filter is a High Efficiency
    Particulate Absorber. Not only can a HEPA filter handle such
    everyday things as dust mites, mold spores, pollen, and pet
    dander, but it's good to have on hand for volcanic ash.


  • Germ Guardian HEPA air filtration, pictured immediate right
    captures 99.7% of allergens, including dust mites, pet dander,
    plant pollens and more. What's more the UV-C light works with
    the HEPA fitler to kill airborne bacteria, viruses and mold
    spores. The American Academy of Pediatric Allergy and
    Immunology, recommends HEPA air filtration to reduce
    exposure to indoor asthma triggers.

#5: Antidote for anthrax (antibiototics and antoxins).
If exposed by touch, victims could experience skin ulcers, fever and
fatigue. Seek medical help immediately if potentially you're
exposed to anthrax and consult the medical team if you are allergic
to penicillin. Know your tolerance of the following treatments for
anthrax, which include:

  • Antibiotics: The antibiotic treatments for anthrax include:
  • ciprofloxacin (fluoroquinolones)
  • doxycycline
  • erythomycin
  • penicillin
  • vancomycin

Ask your doctor if you can have an extra antibiotics prescription
handy. This may not be possible because of limited availability,
and if this is the case you can ask your doctor about fish
antibiotics. It's important to know that if you have an exposure to
anthrax you should take antibiotics before you feel sick. In this way
the antibiotics can attack the anthrax germs before they make
toxins. In this way you will avoid feeling sick. Antibiotics stop the
germs from growing. When anthrax can't grow anymore, the
contagion dies. Unfortunately, this process could take months.
You'll be on maintenance mode with the antibiotics: don't stop
taking them until directed to stop or when you finish your
prescription, or you will allow the germs to grow and then you'll get
sick again. Learn more about an anthrax vaccine.

  • Antitoxins: The purpose of an antitoxin is to target the toxins
    that anthrax releases into the body ~ and such an antitoxin
    treatment can act against the infection quickly. The CDC has a
    limited availablity of such antitoxins and is non-specific about
    their existance; however, according to ABC News, a crude
    vaccine-like antidote or "anthrax antitoxin" can be
    manufactured. It's inexpensive, but it involves injecting animal
    proteins into humans and comes with horrible side effects,
    such as lymph node swelling, chest pain and breathing
    difficulties among other problems.

According to an abstract published in the U.S. National Library of
Medicine National Institutes of Health, "a large-scale or mass
anthrax incident may exceed antitoxin availability and create a
need for judicious antitoxin use."

#6: Take the threat seriously.
One way you can reduce your fears about anthrax and minimize
your exposure is to understand the threat and take all precautions.
While it might be an anthrax hoax, it's not worth the risk of
ignoring.

Is the white powder just cornstarch, baking soda, Borax, powdered
sugar or the like? These harmless subtances could be sent to
invoke fear, but if a mysterious white substance shows up in the
office mail or your personal mail, alert the authorities and head to
the hospital!

Here are the types of anthrax threats that have emerged:

  • The Trump family has suffered multiple anthrax threats.
    Vanessa Trump's anthrax scare in February 2018 brought
    anthrax to the forefront this year, but thankfully the white
    powder turned out to be innocuous. Previously, Eric Trump's
    anthrax scare in March 2016 also turned out to be a hoax.






  • Postal threats (powdered anthrax). In 2001 anthrax
    debuted through the U.S. Postal system in powdered form. Of
    22 exposed individuals (mail handlers), 12 died.


Tips for dealing with a biological airborne attack:

  • Find yourself outside? If you are outside at the point of
    attack, head indoors; however be cautious about your clothing!
    If there are others inside drop your shoes and clothes at the
    door prior to entering so as not to contaminate the household.

  • Live in an apartment? Stuck at the office? Stay inside!
    According to the CDC, a building equipped with a modern,
    central heating and cooling system, such as with an apartment
    or office, will provide a modest level of filtration from outside
    biological contaminants. If you're a prepper, get out your
    NIOSH-certified respirator and put it on!

    Moving inside, isn't enough. Take measure with these
    survival tips:
  1. Move to the top floors of the building. Why? Because
    gases and toxins are heavier than air and wills sink.
  2. Close windows and doors as you move your way up.
  3. Seal off the air vents and turn off air conditioning
    systems if you can. Place damp cloths underneath
    everything you've sealed up.
  4. Tape windows and doors to seal out gases.
  5. Once you're inside, move air through an air filter.

Move air in your home through a HEPA filter.
According to the Center's for Disease Control, "High-Efficiency
Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are useful in biological attacks." That's
good to know if you have a central heating and cooling system with
a HEPA filter.

    If you have a HEPA filter:
  • leave it on if it is running or
  • turn the fan on if it is not running.

  • When you're safely inside, decontaminate:
  1. Take it off: If you haven't already, get yourself naked!
    Remove all your clothing and accessories ensuring
    contaminants do not touch your mouth, nose and skin.
    This means you should not pull anything over your head.
    Instead: cut your clothing with scissors or a knife or rip it.
  2. Seal it up: Seal everything in a double plastic bag
    (preferably a biohazard bag if you have one).
  3. Clean up: Wash with soap and water to prevent as much
    absorption of the toxic agent as possible. Some may
    prefer 10 parts water1 part bleach. If water, soap and or
    bleach isn’t available, you can use a powder, such as
    baking soda, flour, or even talcum powder to absorb liquid
    contaminants. Leave it on your skin for at least 30
    seconds before wiping off with a towel or other clean
    cloth.

  • If you must go outside again:
  • Get ready to wear your gas masks, eye protection,
    coverall, and gloves.
  • Seal up windows and doors with duct tape and drop cloths.

What is North Korea Planning?
Most forms of the disease are lethal. Like many other members of
the genus Bacillus, Bacillus anthracis can form dormant spores that
can survive in harsh conditions for extremely long periods of time-
even decades or centuries. Such spores can be found on all
continents, even Antarctica. When spores are inhaled, ingested, or
come into contact with a skin lesion on a host they may reactivate
and multiply rapidly.

Could anthrax, botulism, cholera, smallpox, or the plague be carried
out by missiles, a bomb or a plane-sprayer? You never know what
North Korea is planning. Learn about these diseases, bioterrorism
and prepare for an attack from North Korea.

Anthrax hoax?
No article on Anthrax would be complete if it had not a mention of
the conspiracy theory surrounding the anthrax letter attacks
thatstarted in September through November of 2001, killing five
and wounding many. The attacks were widely held to be the work
of Muslims and were used to support the invasion of Afghanistan
and, later, the invasion of Iraq. They were used explicitly and
repeatedly to justify the passing of the Patriot Act. They were also
meant to support withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty.

One popular idea was the Double Perpetrator hypothesis according
to which Iraq had supplied the sophisticated anthrax spores while
al-Qaeda had supplied the foot soldiers responsible for preparing
and sending the letters. This hypothesis was eagerly reported by
the mainstream media, but then scientists discovered the anthrax
spores had a domestic source and appeared to come from the heart
of the US military and intelligence communities. The FBI rapidly
began a search for "the anthrax killer," promoting the idea that
there was a lone wolf perpetrator within the military community.

In 2008 the Bureau named Dr. Bruce Ivins of the United States
Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases as the
"anthrax killer." Ivins had conveniently died a week before being
named and could not fight back in court. Ivins remains the FBI's
choice to this day: the case was closed in 2010. The book, The
2001 Anthrax Decision, by Graeme MacQueen was written in
support of four assertions: (a) the anthrax letter attacks were
carried out by a group of perpetrators, not by a “lone wolf;” (b) the
group that perpetrated this crime was composed, in whole or in
part, of deep insiders within the U.S. state apparatus; (c) these
insiders were connected to the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks; (d)
the anthrax attacks were meant to play an important role in the
strategy of redefinition through which the Cold War was replaced by
a new global conflict framework, the Global War on Terror. Give a
look at this popular book!

There's much a prepper needs to know about anthrax. In the end,
it's important to note events that would raise a suspicion of
Anthrax exposure. Be aware that targets of Anthrax may postal
workers, also government employees or media, so occupation may
be an important factor to help provide a diagnosis.

Happy endings...
It used to be that inhalation of Anthrax was a death sentence.
Today, thankfully, that is not the case. Quick diagnosis is key and
with the diagnosis a rapid response. In 2001 those that received a
diagnosis in three days fared much better than those who got their
diagnosis later, five to seven days. The more preppers know about
anthrax and bioterrorism, the more apt they are to survive exposure.

In preparation and planning for specific agents such as anthrax, you
need to have an eye for other agents such as smallpox.

Related articles...

More prepping articles...

Prepare to live happily ever after with us at happypreppers.com - the emergency
preparedness Web site of prepping, survival, homesteading, and self-reliance.
Above, Animal Planet discusses the killer outbreak ~ anthrax. it's a
troublesome pathogen because it can lie dormant in soil for centuries,
virtually undetected before becoming a problem.

#2: Rest assured anthrax is quite rare!
While you may be anxious about the problem of anthrax, you can
rest a sigh of relief in knowing that anthrax is rare and that it
affects animals much more than it does humans.

Upon exposure by touch about 20% of cases, if left untreated, are
fatal; however if exposed by inhalation, anthrax is extremely
lethal with a 99% fatality rate if left untreated.

You might be surprised to know that anthrax can affect both
humans and other animals. Anthrax may come in the form of a
letter or package as a bio-terror event, or you can get it form
infected meat, hides or wool.

The people most at risk for anthrax include:
  • High profile people
  • Emergency response workers
  • Laboratory professionals
  • Mail handlers
  • Travelers
  • Veterinarians
  • Workers who handle animal products

#3: Know what can happen if exposed to anthrax.
It's important to consider that anthrax is a quiet threat and that
it's the unknown that causes the greatest concern. Becuase the
bioweapon is hidden, the symptoms may overlap with other
illnesses and medical personnel may not initially know how to
respond. This is why preppers should pay attention to the details
to know what can happen if exposed to anthrax...

Anthrax symptoms include:
  • fever with chills, drenching sweats
  • coughs with little or no mucus, sometimes including
  • chest discomfort
  • muscle pain, abdominal pain, or sore throats.
  • headaches, confusion,
  • nausea and vomiting
  • fatigue, malaise or lethargy
  • Doctors will find abnormalities chest X-ray, such as a
  • widening of the space  between the lungs and fluid
  • around the lung.

When anthrax germs are inside your body they multiply and
release toxins to make you sick: however, the good and happy
news is that while anthrax is a rare and serious bacterial illness,
it is not contagious and best of all, it is treatable!  Thankfully the
cure for Anthrax is antibiotics (and there are also new vaccines):
Anthrax Preparedness
Preparing for an anthrax attack

You can prepare for an Anthrax attack
One of the most important things you can do to prepare is to
have antibiotics handy. While your doctor can treat Anthrax with
Ciprofloxacin, Doxycycline or Penicillin, you may be considering
stockpioing fish antibiotics if you have medical background.
Certainly the CDC can help you quickly get antibiotics in a crisis
through Points of Dispensing in an emergency as can your
physician, but it's important to get the facts about Anthrax

Know the threats and prepare for bioterrorist attacks including
Anthrax. Below is everything a prepper needs to know about
anthrax...

How to prepare for An Anthrax Attack
If you find a mysterious white powder in the mail, beware of the
possibility of anthrax —the bacterial bioweapon! While extremely
rare, just one gram of anthrax could contain 100 million lethal
doses, which is why it's such a cause for concern and occasionally
makes headline news.

If exposed by touch, targeted victims could experience skin
ulcers, fever, fatigue and even death. Anthrax essentially is a
skin disease, caused by bacillus anthracis, which is a bacterial
germ that's found naturally in soil, but if inhaled has a more rapid
lethal potential. Anthrax presents a problem in that the spores
can lie dormant and then can come to life under the proper
conditions. This makes anthrax a perfect bioweapon.

What to Know About Anthrax..
Leonard A. Cole, a bioterrorism expert and author explains in his
book, The Anthrax Letters, right, that "It was October 2, 2001
when Robert Stevens entered a hospital emergency room.
Feverish, nauseated, and barely conscious, no one knew what was
making him sick. Three days later he was dead."

Stevens was the first fatal victim of bioterrorism in America. It
was likely the first time anyone had ever heard of anthrax in the
United States. While anthrax is worrisome, knowledge is a
powerful antidote.

Here are the steps you can take to minimize your exposure
and reduce your fears about anthrax...

#1: Understand the anthrax threat.
Anthrax has been harvested and controlled for use as a
bioweapon ~ the anthrax spores are mixed with powders such as
a talcum powder, baking soda, baking powder, borax, or other
substance. It can then easily be distributed to intended victims
through the mail in a lethal concoction.

Here's what you need to know about the threat...

  • Lethal dose is tiny. Just one gram of anthrax can contain 100
    million lethal doses, according to the Discovery Channel.

  • Anthrax is a pathogen in waiting. It's surprising to know it
    can remain dormant and undetected in the dirt or animal
    products for centuries. I lab settings anthrax can live in soil
    for 40 years.

  • Anthrax affects animals too. What most people don't
    realize about anthrax is that it affects people as well as
    livestock and crops. The Bacillus anthracis is the bacteria
    that causes anthrax can sicken or kill people, livestock, or
    crops silently. I'ts not unusual for anthrax incidents in cattle
    and sheep, but they can be vaccinated against it.

  • Know the symptoms are confusing. One of the problems
    with anthrax is that symptoms may overlap with those of
    common respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses and the
    first responders may not initially have the tools or
    wherewithal to respond.

  • Understand the treatment options. Thankfully treatment
    for anthrax is available in the form intravenous and oral
    antibiotics; however, if you're allergic to penicillin your
    antidote options are compromised. While this is good news,
    the medical community likely does not have enough antidote
    for large communities who may become affected by anthrax.

  • Educate yourself about anthrax. Most of the panic involved
    with anthrax is the unknown ~ the experts including first
    responders and medical team will need to rush to the
    textbooks to figure out what to do:
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