Defence Ministry Rules Out Russian Origin Of Anthrax

The Russian defence ministry rules out the Russian origin of anthrax the spores of which have been discovered in the USA. Chief of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of the Russian defence ministry, lieutenant-general Viktor Kholstov told a press conference in Moscow that it is impossible. In his turn, the chief sanitary physician of Russia Gennady Onishchenko, who also took part in the press conference, supposed that terrorists chose anthrax because the bacilli of this disease are firm and can live for many years. Onishchenko reported that anti-anthrax vaccination of about 60,000 people is being annually conducted in Russia. According to him, these are mainly agricultural workers, that is people who may contact the ill animals. The mass vaccination of the population, Onishchenko believes, is inexpedient.