A knapsack of the bacteria opened from a plane would waft through the air, gently dispersing in a soft breeze, noticed by no one. A few days might pass, or several weeks, with no symptoms. By the time symptoms do appear, it's usually too late. From the lungs, the spores travel to the victim's lymph nodes. They grow and multiply along the journey, eventually invading the blood stream and poisoning the body with toxins.
Initial symptoms resemble the flu, or an upper respiratory infection.
There is fever, a dry cough, muscle soreness and fatigue. Inside the lungs, membranes are rupturing. Within a day or so, the symptoms may vanish for a time. It's a tease. Suddenly, there is shortness of breath, an awful cough and chills.