THE SVERDLOVSK ANTHRAX OUTBREAK OF 1979

In April and May 1979, an unusual anthrax epidemic occurred in Sverdlo vsk, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Soviet officials attributed it to consumption of contaminated meat. U.S. agencies attributed it to inhalation of spores accidentally released at a military microbiology facility in the city. Epidemiological data show that most victims wor ked or lived in a narrow zone extending from the military facility to the southern city limit. Farther south, livestock died of anthrax alon g the zone's extended axis. The zone paralleled the northerly wind tha t prevailed shortly before the outbreak. It is concluded that the esca pe of an aerosol of anthrax pathogen at the military facility caused t he outbreak.