Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40662020›Full record

ReviewCureus2025

The Rhodesian Anthrax Epidemic: A Case of Biological Warfare?

Matthew D Turner

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Matthew D TurnerEmergency Medicine, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Rhodesian anthrax epidemic of 1978-1980 was one of the largest in recorded history. Occurring during the chaos of the Rhodesian Bush War, the anthrax epidemic led to the deaths of hundreds and caused significant economic devastation in what is now the country of Zimbabwe. To this day, the origins of this devastating outbreak remain highly controversial. However, in this article, we determine that the anthrax epidemic most likely occurred due to an endemic outbreak, exacerbated by the breakdown of services from the war, food scarcity, and a number of other unique wartime circumstances.

Indexed as

anthraxbiological warfarecbwchemical and biological warfareepidemicrhodesiarhodesian bush war

Identifiers

PMID40662020
PMCPMC12257047

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.