Lebanese political and health officials moved quickly this weekend to allay fears of an anthrax scare after weekend reports that two Beirut residents had received packages containing suspicious white powder, the Daily Star reported Monday.
State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum was quoted by the Beirut-based daily as saying that “I think this will turn out to be a prank.”
Addoum said the fact that one of the letters contained a “sealed plastic bag containing a white powder,” was highly suggestive of a crude hoax.
Medical experts have explained that in the recent spate of US mailings, bioterrorists had used loose powder laced with anthrax spores to increase the bacteria’s dispersion and thus human exposure.
The state’s Central Laboratory tested the powder over the weekend and should issue the results on Monday, said the paper.
Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax most commonly occurs in wild and domestic lower vertebrates (cattle, sheep, goats, camels, antelopes, and other herbivores), but it can also occur in humans when they are exposed to infected animals or tissue from infected animals – Albawaba.com
