Scientists question if Bruce Ivins was sole Anthrax attacker
(AP, ABC7) - Two scientists say they've written a research paper questioning the government conclusion that an Army microbiologist at Fort Detrick was the sole perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people and sickened others.
Bonnie Duggan, Ivins’ former neighbors in Frederick, Md., says if there's still doubt, it's best to keep digging.
“I’ve heard enough discussion on whether he had the means to do it scientifically,” she said.
Epidemiologist Martin Hugh-Jones at Louisiana State University says the article will be published in the Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense. Journal editors didn't respond to queries about a publication date.
The article, co-written by Dallas chemist Stuart Jacobsen, maintains anthrax spores were coated with chemicals indicating a higher degree of manufacturing skill than Bruce E. Ivins possessed. Ivins, who denied involvement, died in 2008 as the Justice Department prepared to charge him with murder.
While investigators say he worked unusual, late hours before anthrax letters were sent and often mailed items under assumed names, he was never directly linked.
Department spokesman Dean Boyd said in an email the article provides no evidence spores were grown anywhere but in Ivins' lab.
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