Plague dissemination

So, overall the chemometrics bridge between the lands of the overly simplistic and severely complex is well under construction one may find at least a single lane open by which to pass. So why another series Well, it is still our labor of love to deal with specific issues that plague ourselves and our colleagues involved in the practice of multivariate qualitative and quantitative spectroscopic calibration. Having collectively worked with hundreds of instrument users over 25 combined years of calibration problems, we are compelled, like bees loaded with pollen, to disseminate the problems, answers, and questions brought about by these experiences. Then what would a series named Chemometrics in Spectroscopy hope to cover which is of interest to the readers of Spectroscopy ... 

These are anthrax, smallpox, plague, botulism, tularemia, viral hemorrhagic fevers and ricin. They can disseminate and present a high risk on public health. Most of them require Level 4 Biosafety laboratories. 

The proposed use of biological weapons was not limited to Europe and Asia. In 1763, during Pontiac s Rebellion in New England, Colonel Henry Bouquet, a British officer, proposed giving the Indians at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, blankets infected with smallpox. The disease, whether purposely disseminated or not, proved devastating to the Native American population. A similar plan was executed in 1785, when Tunisians threw plague-infected clothing into La Calle, held by the Christians. 

Fig. 23-9. This patient is recovering from bubonic plague that disseminated to the blood (septicemic form) and the lungs (pneumonic form). Note the dressing over the tracheostomy site. At one point, the patient s entire body was purpuric. Note the acral necrosis of (a) the patient s nose and fingers and (b) the toes. Photographs Courtesy Ken Gage, Ph.D., Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colo.

Category A agents These agents occupy the highest rank, as they can be easily disseminated and transmitted from one person to another. They cause the highest mortality and are a major public health concern. Examples include Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and Yersinia pestis (plague). 

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