But FDA's formal approval of Cipro Thursday makes it the nation's first medication specifically designated for use after bioterrorism, a sign federal health officials have begun taking the threat seriously. Public health experts have warned for several years that the nation is unprepared for the growing risk of bioterrorism, the release of deadly bacteria or viruses. It's not a theoretical risk. In 1985, a cult sickened 750 Oregonians by tainting salad bars with the food-poisoning germ salmonella. Experts say Japanese doomsday cultists tried but failed to release botulism toxin and anthrax in Tokyo in 1995, before they released nerve gas into a subway, killing 12 people and sickening thousands.
Anthrax is a spore-forming bacteria found in soil.
When it is aerosolized and inhaled, it becomes incredibly deadly. It is of particular concern because it has been manufactured as a biological weapon by at least three nations, Russia, Iraq and Iran. Just a few pounds of spores released into air conditioning units or sprayed over a crowd could infect thousands. Eighty percent of inhaled anthrax victims die within days if they go untreated. To be most effective, Cipro should be taken within hours of anthrax exposure, FDA antibiotic chief Gary Chikami said.