Wow. That's weird. How or why would he have acquired that immunity? Ima stumped[NYPost] A North Korean soldier who defected to the South was found to have antibodies to anthrax ‐ triggering concerns that the rogue regime has weaponized the deadly bacteria, according to reports Tuesday.
The man, who was either exposed to or vaccinated for anthrax, had developed immunity to the deadly disease before defecting, UPI reported, citing local Channel A.
A South Korean intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity did not say which of the four soldiers who fled the hermit kingdom this year had the antibodies in his system.
The discovery is causing concern in Seoul because the disease can kill at least 80 percent of those who are exposed to the bacterium in 24 hours ‐ unless antibiotics are taken or vaccination is available.
But South Korea's military has yet to procure an anthrax vaccine.
Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo has said an anthrax "vaccine is expected to be developed by the end of 2019," but not sooner, UPI reported.
The North Korean rogue regime has been suspected of developing biological weapons after in 2015 publicizing the works of the Pyongyang Biological Technology Research Institute, which is run by the Korean People's Army Unit 810.