Anthrax defense

Number of deaths from recent anthrax attacks: 1. Number of confirmed cases of anthrax infections: about 50. Headline in Wednesday’s copy of The Times of London: “America paralysed by 2,300 anthrax scares.” For a nation trying to recover from the devastating attack of Sept. 11, this level of self-abuse is startling and not limited to unbalanced people with a supply of baking soda.

No one seems to know yet who is sending the poisonous mailings but it is pretty clear to whom they are being sent. An editor on a national tabloid got one. Tom Brokaw of NBC News was a recipient, as were Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and New York Gov. George Pataki. Four examples hardly make a definitive pattern, but they certainly suggest that the real attacks are against those who can attract national attention. They also suggest that if you are leaf-peeping in Maine and stop to use the restrooms at the I-95 Hampden rest stop, you probably are not a target for the terrorists even if you do spot a powdery substance on the sidewalk there.

The threat from anthrax is serious and the Bush administration as well as state officials should treat it that way, but as of now anyway the threat is limited to specific targets. More than 60 sightings of suspicious powder (including one report that turned out to be old tartar sauce) have been registered in Maine. All turned out to be either hoaxes or simply the result of the harmless powdery substances that turn up in everyday life, like the broken piece of wallboard that left gypsum traces at the Hampden rest stop.

Keeping the anthrax attacks in perspective is important not only because it helps stop the deranged from sending fake attack letters and keeps the nation from being paralyzed with fear. It also means that the Bush administration can enact a sensible medical program of antibiotics to protect or treat likely or actual victims, a program that is not overburdened by a panicked demand for the drugs.

Gov. King provided the proper balance in a comment earlier this week: “We need to be vigilant,” he said. “On the other hand, we don’t want to panic, because if we do we’re giving into fear, and that is really the essence of what these folks are trying to accomplish.”

Maine misses out on plenty that more densely populated regions of the country experience, which in the case of the anthrax attacks in Florida, New York and Washington turns out to be a good thing. Rather than worry about buying gas masks or antibiotics, the best defense for Mainers may be to stay away from the famous and powerful – and certainly don’t open their mail.