A Love Letter to Anthrax Part Two

I’m happy to present Into the Archives: A Love Letter to Anthrax – Part Two

In my humble opinion, the 1990s were an incredible time to be alive. It was the decade that kept on giving: boy band fever, acid wash denim, sensational cartoons (Samurai Pizza Cats, anyone?), peak professional wrestling, the World Wide Web, Y2K hysteria, and…anthrax? That’s right – in 90s America, anthrax hoaxes were

reaching a record high.

Exhausted public officials were responding as best as they could. It took considerable resources to decontaminate sites of potential anthrax release, answer endless questions from the anxious public, and provide the right amount of information to empower people to protect themselves without eliciting fear. The public were also tired of being caught in the crossfire of relentless anthrax hoaxes. By the time the Millenium rolled around, the idea of a biological weapons attack with anthrax had been well played out.

And then in 2001 the nightmare became a reality. What started with a Florida man falling mysteriously ill ended up becoming a national catastrophe. It was the birth of the Select Agent Program, and the scandalous climax to the anthrax saga. But is this the reputation that Bacillus anthracis deserves?

Has this changed the way you think about Bacillus anthracis? Share your thoughts with me and sign up to receive future editions of Into the Archives by joining my mailing list here!