9490: Anthrax in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: P D Bellegarde-Smith <pbs@csd.uwm.edu>

The Haitian Times
10/31-11/3/01
page 17, 25

[extracts]

Bruner has an airline ticket to travel [from Haiti] to Florida in
November. 
   Alarmed by bio-terrorism reports and the news of anthrax outbreaks in
the state, he has asked his doctor to prescribe antibiotics....
   He seems to be completely unaware of the fact that in metropolitan
Port-au-Prince where he lives, 100 people each year come down with the
desease, according to figures provided by the Haitian Ministry of
Agriculture.
.........
   US authorities have long been concerned about possible export of
anthrax from Haiti. In May 1974, the United States Bureau of Consummer
Protection warned against importing leather products from Haiti.
   The warning, in accordance with a directive from the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) indicated that American tourists had been exposed to
the cutaneous form of anthrax after having purchased drume made of
untreated hides from Haiti.
   An analysis of various products containing animal hair imported from
Haiti revealed that a considerable number had been contaminated by anthrax
spores.