Gruinard Bay, the Triumph of Culture
The island of Gruinard is located in Gruinard Bay,
between Ullapool and Gairloch, on the west coast of Scotland. Contaminated with
Anthrax in 1942 as a result of biological warfare experiments and declared safe
in 1990.
Dr Brian Moffat, archaeologist, "I would not go
walking on Gruinard. If anthrax is still active at Soutra (Bloggist: medieval Scottish hospital excavated by Dr Moffat), there is no reason to suppose it has
not survived on more recent sites. It is a very resilient and deadly
bacterium."
For your information: initial symptoms after inhalation
might include mild fever, malaise, fatigue, coughing and, occasionally, a
feeling of pressure on the chest. The sheep experimented on in 1942 died three
days after exposure to the anthrax spores.
