New report on germ research
In April 1979 Soviet citizens on the outskirts of Sverdlovsk in the Ural Mountains developed fevers and respiratory problems. Hundreds died. The Soviet Union identified the epidemic as intestinal anthrax, a bacterial disease spread to human beings by infected livestock.
But the symptoms strongly resembled those of pulmonary anthrax, which is far more deadly than intestinal anthrax. Also, Sverdlovsk is the site of a military facility that Western intelligence agencies have suspected of developing biological warfare weapons. Had something gone wrong during an experiment, accidentally releasing lethal spores into the atmosphere? The U.S. challenged the Soviet...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
