Could there be something to this age tie-in for coming down with inhalational anthrax? It’s no surprise that the elderly would be more susceptible to an opportunistic disease than those who are young and fit. But as I noted in last night’s post, the age spread of those who’ve got skin and and inhalation anthrax is striking (all but one of the former were under 50, all but one of the latter over 50.)
I’m now told that studies of the accidental release of weaponized anthrax in the Soviet Union in 1979 showed the victims tended to be people who were older, were smokers, or had some previous lung impairment. This CDC report on that outbreak notes that none of those who came down with the disease were children — though researchers were unable to determine whether this was due to differences in resistance or simply the pattern of who had been exposed.
Yes, the numbers are far too small to prove anything. But they do make you wonder.
