Recently a series has come out about the Rajneeshee commune in Oregon. Here are some facts about the Rajneeshee bioterror attack:
-Occurred in 1984
-The plan was to incapacitate the community’s voting population so that the Rajneeshee candidates would win the 1984 county election in Wasco County, Oregon
-751 people were affected and 45 hospitalized from the poisoning
-The commune had purchased the salmonella from a medical supply company in Seattle, then grown cultures of the bacteria in their lab at the commune
-The salmonella was first put in water glasses of water of two county commissioners, and later spread on a salad bars in 10 restaurants, on food in grocery stores, and on doorknobs and urinal handles
-The Rajneeshees carried the salmonella in plastic bags full of a brown liquid
-Symptoms of salmonella include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, fever, chills, and headache
-It took one year for the Center of Disease Control to confirm that it was poisoning, when the commune was raided and a sample of the bacteria was found in the commune’s medical laboratory
-The DNA of the salmonella from the salad bar infection matched the DNA of the salmonella that was cultured by the commune members in their lab
-The Oregon State Public Health Laboratory initially blamed the outbreak on poor hygiene by food handlers
-Local residents thought the Rajneeshees were behind the attack, and showed up in large numbers for the election, defeating the Rajneeshees despite the poisoning
-Largest bioterror attack ever in the United States
Healthfacts.blog 