Sverdlovsk anthrax leak (nonfiction)

Map of probable locations of anthrax patients at time of exposure.

The Sverdlovsk anthrax leak was a biowarfare materials accident which began on April 2, 1979, when weaponized anthrax spores were accidentally release from Soviet military research facility near the city of Sverdlovsk, Russia (now Yekaterinburg).

The ensuing outbreak of the disease resulted in approximately 100 deaths, although the exact number of victims remains unknown. The cause of the outbreak was denied for years by the Soviet authorities, which blamed the deaths on consumption of tainted meat from the area, and subcutaneous exposure due to butchers handling the tainted meat.

All medical records of the victims were removed to hide serious violations of the Biological Weapons Convention. The accident is sometimes referred to as "biological Chernobyl".

Fiction cross-reference

• Crimes against chemical constants
• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles

External links

• Sverdlovsk anthrax leak @ Wikipedia
• Sverdlovsk anthrax leak @ UCLA