The letters were sent to several news media offices and two Democratic senators: Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. As a result, 22 were infected and five died. Only a few grams of material were used in these attacks and in August 2008, the US Department of Justice announced they believed that Bruce Ivins, a senior biodefense researcher employed by the United States government, was responsible. These events also spawned many anthrax hoaxes. Due to these events, the US Postal Service installed biohazard detection systems at its major distribution centers to actively scan for anthrax being transported through the mail. As of 2020, no positive alerts by these systems have occurred. Decontaminating mail
In response to the postal anthrax attacks and hoaxes, the United States Postal Service sterilized some mail using gamma irradiation and treatment with a proprietary enzyme formula supplied by Sipco Industries.A scientific experiment performed by a high school student, later published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, suggested a domestic electric iron at its hottest setting (at least 400 °F (204 °C)) used for at least 5 minutes should destroy all anthrax spores in a common postal envelope. Popular culture
In Aldous Huxleys 1932 dystopian novel Brave New World, anthrax bombs are mentioned as the primary weapon by means of which original modern society is terrorized and in large part eradicated, to be replaced by a dystopian society. The climax of the 1947 British film The Loves of Joanna Godden involves the death of a key character by anthrax.
Limits were placed on prescription duration and refills.Production continued throughout the 1960s, but by 1970, meprobamate was listed as a controlled substance after it was discovered to cause physical and psychological dependence. On January 19, 2012, the European Medicines Agency withdrew marketing authorization in the European Union for all medicines containing meprobamate, "due to serious side effects seen with the medicine." The Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use "concluded that the benefits of meprobamate do not outweigh its risks." In October 2013, Canada also withdrew marketing authorization. Pharmacology
Although it was marketed as being safer, meprobamate has most of the pharmacological effects and dangers of barbiturates and acts at the barbiturate binding site (though it is less sedating at effective doses). It is reported to have some anticonvulsant properties against absence seizures, but can exacerbate generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Meprobamates mechanism of action is not completely known. It has been shown in animal studies to have effects at multiple sites in the central nervous system, including the thalamus and limbic system. Meprobamate binds to GABAA receptors which interrupts neuronal communication in the reticular formation and spinal cord, causing sedation and altered perception of pain. Meprobamate has the ability to activate currents even in the absence of GABA. This relatively unique property makes meprobamate exceptionally dangerous when used in combination with other GABA-mediated drugs (including alcohol). It is also a potent adenosine reuptake inhibitor. Related drugs include carisoprodol and tybamate (prodrugs of meprobamate), phenprobamate, felbamate, mebutamate, and methocarbamol.