Siberian heat wave unleashes deadly 'zombie anthrax' outbreak through century-old reindeer carcasses

[xeni]

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/08/03/siberian-heat-wave-unleashes-d.html
…

[Papasan]

Zombie anthrax?

Yes, it’s a thing, and it can/might kill you. If you come in contact with it, that’s the one caveat.

"Zombie" Anthrax Goes on a Killing Spree in Siberia--How?

Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that cause anthrax, are capable of surviving in the soil for centuries

from above piece.

[vrplumber]

There is something a bit surreal about the nicely dressed family calmly crouched around the freshly killed carcass, just like a picnic, but with more gore.

[anon63496581]

This part:

@xeni

Or, maybe no corpse-eating took place at all. Feeding animals need only to munch a little bit of earth near a place where an infected body is buried, human or animal, to potentially come in contact with anthrax spores.

is kind of horrifying to me. I mean, I can understand that it would spread via eating of infected meat, but just by contact with something nearby? Yikes.

[ficuswhisperer]

@xeni

NBC reports that authorities in the region stopped vaccinating reindeer against anthrax a decade ago, because there had been no outbreaks for over 50 years.

Antivaxxers, take note.

[Modusoperandi]

News stories like this are killing traffic to my chain of uncooked, century old reindeer-themed restaurants. Well, the news stories and practically everything else I just said.

@vrplumber

There is something a bit surreal about the nicely dressed family calmly crouched around the freshly killed carcass, just like a picnic, but with more gore.

Have you never been to a family restaurant?

[vrplumber]

I tried to eat at a family restaurant once, but they wouldn’t let me in, because I was without family.

Went to the singles bar, instead.

[Boundegar]

Isn’t this how The Thing starts?

[generic_name]

@xeni

The Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region is well known as source of high quality venison, a great quantity of which is exported overseas.

Oh boy, here we go.

[popobawa4u]

Wasn’t this the plot of the first season of ReGenesis? Except that was a weaponized virus instead of Anthrax.

[bucaneer]

@Modusoperandi

Have you never been to a family restaurant?

No, I figure that’s more than I can eat.

[KathyPartdeux]

Next to be thawed - mammoth herpes.

[OtherMichael]

One was wearing a hoodie.

[anon27822705]

@OtherMichael

One was wearing a hoodie.

Was it one of the hoodies that nobody in your neighborhood can get because they are selling out so fast???

[fiatrn]

I am disturbed that the local Biowarfare troops seem to have a pre-made handy reindeer carcass incinerator. Why?

[anon26940528]

@fiatrn

I am disturbed that the local Biowarfare troops seem to have a pre-made handy reindeer carcass incinerator. Why?

Coleman grills don’t come in camo.

[NickSay]

I assumed it was what they named their 2016 tour

Anthrax (American band)

[HMSGoose]

Man, pictures of kids in hospitals always made me sad in an abstract way, but now that I have a baby, they are like a fucking physical gut punch. I can’t handle that shit anymore.