WHAT IS “WEAPONS-GRADE” ANTHRAX?
To make an “effective” bio-weapon, the anthrax has to be prepared in a way that will make it hang in the air – an aerosol – in sufficient quantities that it can be breathed in and cause disease. Loading it on to a fine powder could do this. The powder itself might be treated so that it is electrically neutral, does not stick to surfaces and stays airborne for longer. A strain that is more resistant, or has been altered to be more resistant, to treatment from antibiotics will also have more damaging effects. A preparation of the anthrax that met these criteria could be described as “weapons-grade” and its use could indicate state involvement in any attack because of the necessary expertise and funding that would be involved. Source: BBC News, October 15, 19, 2001.
