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FBI seizes nondeadly
version of anthrax Posted 3-2-98 Federal charges were dropped last week against two men suspected of possessing lethal, anthrax bacteria, although one of the men may face further charges for violating probation. Authorities dropped their case after tests of the seized material revealed a harmless anthrax-based veterinary vaccine used for livestock rather than a deadly agent. William J. Leavitt Jr., a home-laboratory medical researcher, and Larry Wayne Harris, a microbiologist and suspected white supremacist, were arrested Feb. 18 in a Las Vegas suburb on charges of possessing anthrax for use as a biological weapon. FBI officials made the arrest after receiving a tip that the pair were testing vials of lethal anthrax and planned to unleash the germ publicly. However, an attorney for Leavitt said his client possessed the vaccine in order to try out a machine he hoped could neutralize biological agents. Harris could face several years in jail for violating probation. A federal court last April sentenced Harris to 18 months’ probation for presenting false credentials to a Maryland lab in order to get bubonic plague bacteria through the mail. Anthrax, a particularly virulent germ, can be transmitted through the air and can be fatal in microscopic amounts. However, most bacterial infections, including anthrax, can be treated with antibiotics immediately after exposure or can be prevented beforehand with vaccinations. Scientists say it is not possible for vaccine-strength anthrax to be transformed into toxic substances that would spread the germ to humans. Related Site . |
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