September 11, 2001 will of course be one of the most historic days ever remembered in American and world history. Not long after that tragic day were the Anthrax scares in which Anthrax was delivered in envelopes to numerous media outlets that ended with the deaths of five people. PBS Frontline is airing a special tonight called "The Anthrax Files." Appearing in the special this evening is UW Department of Veterinary Medicine assistant professor Jeffrey J. Adamovics. Adamovics also conducts research at the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory.

Adamovics as well as UW Professor Gerry Andrews were former colleagues with Bruce Ivins, who according to the FBI was the sole perpetrator of the Anthrax attacks. In 2001, the two worked with Ivans at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID) in Frederick, MD where the FBI states Ivans produced the Anthrax.

In defense of Bruce Ivins, Adamovics says that scientific evidence clearly shows that the Anthrax was not produced in our laboratory (USAMRIID). The two University of Wyoming professors believe that Ivans could not have committed the country's most notorious act of bioterrorism.

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Tonight's Frontline report focuses on the FBI's investigation into the 2001 rash of Anthrax letters that were sent to media outlets and public officials at numerous U.S. locations. The FBI spent seven years pursuing a wrong suspect. The FBI investigation was the most expensive and complex investigation ever undertaken. The investigation concluded when the FBI identified Ivans as the sole perpetrator. Prior to the final verdict Bruce Ivans took his life. Years later questions are still unanswered and many are still questioning if the FBI's scientific conclusions were wrong.

Check your local broadcast listing's for the PBS Frontline Special "The Anthrax Files airing Tuesday October 11th.

 

Information courtesy of the University of Wyoming.

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