Anthrax Scare Cuts Rally Short
Yesterday
we got a substantial rally in all major indices at least
partially on the rumor that Osama bin Laden had been taken out (taken out is
military-speak for either found dead or captured). While that rumor was just
that, a rumor, it is not surprising for me to see that the market’s reaction to
the anthrax scare in New York has taken us back to where yesterday’s rally
began.
The worker that
contracted anthrax opened a letter or package that contained an amount of a
white powder 10 days ago, which she reported immediately to the authorities. The
woman is on antibiotics and is doing fine. The form of anthrax she contracted
was cutaneous, not nearly as problematic, or deadly, as the inhaled forms found
in Florida.
As
our entire panel echoed last night on “Doctor
J & the Traders,” the market seemed ripe for profit-taking, and given the emotional reaction every veteran trader would expect from
an attack, today’s action doesn’t seem unwarranted.
I
have been focusing on a couple stocks that either track, or treat, diseases like
anthrax and will share those as well as information from the Center
for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta with you below:
Avant
Immunotherapeutics
(
AVAN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) $5.20
Develops
vaccines against acute infectious and contagious diseases such as anthrax.
Nanogen
(
NGEN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) $8.90
Develops
miniature electronic monitors that can identify agents of biological warfare
and infectious disease in human blood samples.
Cepheid
(
CPHD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
$7.97
Develops
microfluidic systems for detecting infinitesimal amounts of disease-causing
agents and contaminants in food and water. They also purify DNA and perform genetic
profiling.
ANTHRAX:
- Symptoms
of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but symptoms
usually occur within 7 days.
- Cutaneous:
Most (about 95%) anthrax infections occur when the bacterium enters a cut or
abrasion on the skin, such as when handling contaminated wool, hides,
leather or hair products (especially goat hair) of infected animals. Skin
infection begins as a raised itchy bump that resembles an insect bite, but
within 1-2 days develops into a vesicle and then a painless ulcer, usually
1-3 cm in diameter with a characteristic black necrotic (dying) area in the
center. Lymph glands in the adjacent area may swell. About 20% of untreated
cases of cutaneous anthrax will result in death. Deaths are rare with
appropriate anti-microbial therapy.
- Inhalation:
Initial symptoms may resemble a common cold. After several days, the
symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation
anthrax is usually fatal.
- Intestinal:
The intestinal disease form of anthrax may
follow the consumption of contaminated meat and is characterized by an acute
inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of
appetite, vomiting and fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of
blood
and severe diarrhea. Intestinal anthrax results in death in 25% to 60% of
cases.