Anthrax Leak in the Soviet Union

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2017

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1979, an outbreak of anthrax poisoning caused dozens of deaths in the Soviet Union. Geneticist and molecular biologist Professor Matthew Meselson and his team accessed the area years later to determine what had happened. He told Rachael Gillman about his experience.

Photo: Anthrax Vial Credit: Getty Images

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC
0:35.4	Sounds.
0:36.4	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:40.9	My name's Linda Davies and I commissioned
0:43.0	podcast for BBC Sounds.
0:45.0	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality,
0:49.0	featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:54.4	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
1:00.9	poltergeist, cricket and conspiracy theories, and that's just a few examples.
1:06.4	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over
1:11.1	at BBC Sounds.
1:12.2	Hello, you're listening to the Witness Podcast on the BBC World Service with me Rachel Gilman.
1:17.0	Today I'm taking you back to 1979 when an outbreak of anthrax poisoning caused the deaths of dozens of people in the Soviet Union.
1:26.0	anthrax is a deadly infection most commonly associated with animals,
1:30.0	but it was also developed for use as a biological weapon.
1:34.0	It's early April in 1979 and Soviet officials have attempted to keep a deadly outbreak of anthrax under Raps in Sverdlovsk,
1:46.2	a city 1400 kilometers east of Moscow and well known for arms production.
	...

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