The Post Office scans our mail for biohazards; they have since the Anthrax attacks. What would get through?
No practical way to detect anthrax.
It is just a spore, all sealed up in its own capsule, as well as the envelope.
You would have to at least open each envelop, which would take far too long.
And the only way to detect without culturing, takes a large sample.
https://www.bioee.ee.columbia.edu/courses/upload/Bibliography/makino_appliedmicrobiology_2001.pdf
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Anthrax is a disease caused by the spore-forming Bacillus anthracis, a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. Three forms of human anthrax are known: cutaneous, gastrointestinal and pulmonary (inhalation) anthrax. The cutaneous form is often self-limiting, but inhalation anthrax is sometimes severe because antibiotics only suppress the infection if administered shortly after exposure (i.e. within the ®rst 24±48 h). If not treated by the time symptoms develop, death is likely to occur in 99% of cases in unprotected individuals (James et al. 1998). Although inhalation anthrax is generally contracted from breathing airborne anthrax spores, monitoring the exposure of B. anthracis spores in the atmosphere is extremely dif®cult because the spores are not visible to the naked eye and are colourless, odourless and tasteless. Therefore, a rapid and sensitive technique to detect anthrax spores in the atmosphere is important for public health. In this study, we established a PCR detection system for B. anthracis using real time PCR technology, and also a simple isolation system using selective agar plates.
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One hundred litres of air were passed through a 0á45 lm nitrocellulose membrane ®lter using an aerosol analysis monitor (Millipore Co., Tokyo Japan). The membrane was suspended in 1 ml of PBS and 0á1 ml of each suspension was spread on nutrient agar plates (NA; Difco Laboratory, Detroit, MI, USA) to quantify the total number of bacterial cells. To the remaining 0á9 ml of the suspension, 0á1 ml of PBS was added, containing either 0, 1, 10 or 100 spores of B. anthracis Pasteur II (Uchida et al. 1985), prepared according to Uchida et al. (1985). The mixtures, prepared in duplicate, were centrifuged 15 000 g for 5 min to isolate all cells which were then re-suspended in 10 ll of sterile water. The suspension was spread on Bacillus cereus selection agar (BCA; Oxoid Ltd, Hampshire, England) and incubating at 37°C for 18 h to detect B. anthracis.
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