imported_Vermin
22-04-2005, 09:34
10000 killed, government uses biological weapons
Kalagay - Since the day before yesterday, people living in Kalagay have been died from the results of what appeared to be a Type B Botulinum infection. And although it would have been simple to cure most of the patients this what impossible after a military operation in which the largest stock of antitoxin was impounded. The Government first denied involvment but now admits it spread the disease itself
The first reports of disease taking their hold on the village came two days ago when a local doctor suspected foodpoisoning, at the time the man did not realise he was dealing with a lab-cultivated type B neurotoxin. It gave the Botulism organism the time to quickly spread throughout the entire village and infect the 11283 registered inhabitants together with a number of unknown visitors.
Once the first patients died local medical staff began to panick and called support from the Qargha anti-toxin centre which held the main stock of anti-dote. The Qargha centre however was at the time being searched by the governments secret service KHAD and the Sarandoy police, who impounded all stocks for further investigation. The police claimed it was looking for illegal goods left behind by a spy and denied any involvement in the Kalagay poisoning but they still refused to release any of the antidotes saying these may have been replaced by other more dangerous toxins.
Instead KHAD sent Sarandoy policemen to close all routes to the village in an effort to contain the disease while other centres sent anti-dote to the regional hospital.
It took the local medical staff another 24 hours to get to the village past the police roadblocks, just in time to save 124 lives but too late to help any of the other patients. A final deathcount: 11288 of which 5855 women and 4101 children (-16)
Today the ministry of defence admitted the organism came from their labs and was used with governmental permission. General Rahman said: "We must remember that these were rebels and this is what they deserved for being against our great leader. It felt it as our duty to rid ourselves of these undesirable elements. It also gave us good results that will help us in the creation of other biological weaponry such as Anthrax. I thank the leading scientists Dr Otto Giftmacher and Carl Fettgesicht of our new Biological Department for their excellent work." The journalists at the meeting did not ask but observers believe the government will use the Anthrax bacteria against dissidents in the future. The government denies.
Facts:Botulinum neurotoxins cause flaccid muscle paralysis and are among the deadliest poisons known to men -they are responsible for the food poisoning disease botulism, the symptoms of which include blurred vision and respiratory failure. They have also been developed into biological weapons- their toxicity is ~100,000 times that of sarin, the notorious nerve gas that was developed by the Nazi's during World War II and was used in the Tokyo subway attack in 1995. Currently, the predominant treatment for exposure to botulinum neurotoxins is the injection of antitoxin, which prevents the symptoms from worsening. However, it may take weeks to months to overcome the remaining toxic effects. Thus, effective antidotes are clearly needed.
Botulinum neurotoxins are secreted by strains of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. They consist of two protein components that serve separate functions: one component, called the heavy (H) chain, is involved in targeting and transporting the other component, called the light (L) chain, which carries the actual toxic activity, into the neuronal cells. Once inside the cells, the L chains cleave proteins that participate in the release of neurotransmitters at the junctions between the neuronal and muscular cells, thereby causing muscle paralysis. Effective antidotes to botulinum neurotoxins could block any one of three steps -targeting, transporting or cleavage- essential for their toxicity. Designing such antidotes, however, requires a thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms of these steps.
NPG/Nature, Structural Biology/Nature.com
Kalagay - Since the day before yesterday, people living in Kalagay have been died from the results of what appeared to be a Type B Botulinum infection. And although it would have been simple to cure most of the patients this what impossible after a military operation in which the largest stock of antitoxin was impounded. The Government first denied involvment but now admits it spread the disease itself
The first reports of disease taking their hold on the village came two days ago when a local doctor suspected foodpoisoning, at the time the man did not realise he was dealing with a lab-cultivated type B neurotoxin. It gave the Botulism organism the time to quickly spread throughout the entire village and infect the 11283 registered inhabitants together with a number of unknown visitors.
Once the first patients died local medical staff began to panick and called support from the Qargha anti-toxin centre which held the main stock of anti-dote. The Qargha centre however was at the time being searched by the governments secret service KHAD and the Sarandoy police, who impounded all stocks for further investigation. The police claimed it was looking for illegal goods left behind by a spy and denied any involvement in the Kalagay poisoning but they still refused to release any of the antidotes saying these may have been replaced by other more dangerous toxins.
Instead KHAD sent Sarandoy policemen to close all routes to the village in an effort to contain the disease while other centres sent anti-dote to the regional hospital.
It took the local medical staff another 24 hours to get to the village past the police roadblocks, just in time to save 124 lives but too late to help any of the other patients. A final deathcount: 11288 of which 5855 women and 4101 children (-16)
Today the ministry of defence admitted the organism came from their labs and was used with governmental permission. General Rahman said: "We must remember that these were rebels and this is what they deserved for being against our great leader. It felt it as our duty to rid ourselves of these undesirable elements. It also gave us good results that will help us in the creation of other biological weaponry such as Anthrax. I thank the leading scientists Dr Otto Giftmacher and Carl Fettgesicht of our new Biological Department for their excellent work." The journalists at the meeting did not ask but observers believe the government will use the Anthrax bacteria against dissidents in the future. The government denies.
Facts:Botulinum neurotoxins cause flaccid muscle paralysis and are among the deadliest poisons known to men -they are responsible for the food poisoning disease botulism, the symptoms of which include blurred vision and respiratory failure. They have also been developed into biological weapons- their toxicity is ~100,000 times that of sarin, the notorious nerve gas that was developed by the Nazi's during World War II and was used in the Tokyo subway attack in 1995. Currently, the predominant treatment for exposure to botulinum neurotoxins is the injection of antitoxin, which prevents the symptoms from worsening. However, it may take weeks to months to overcome the remaining toxic effects. Thus, effective antidotes are clearly needed.
Botulinum neurotoxins are secreted by strains of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. They consist of two protein components that serve separate functions: one component, called the heavy (H) chain, is involved in targeting and transporting the other component, called the light (L) chain, which carries the actual toxic activity, into the neuronal cells. Once inside the cells, the L chains cleave proteins that participate in the release of neurotransmitters at the junctions between the neuronal and muscular cells, thereby causing muscle paralysis. Effective antidotes to botulinum neurotoxins could block any one of three steps -targeting, transporting or cleavage- essential for their toxicity. Designing such antidotes, however, requires a thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms of these steps.
NPG/Nature, Structural Biology/Nature.com