A computational fluid dynamics simulation of anthrax diffusion in a subway station

Anthrax endospores were used in the past to attempt to the life of civilians, just think about the failed attack in Tokyo in 1993 or the 22 cases, including five deaths, occurred in USA in 2001. Because of the high case-fatality rate (CFR around 50% for respiratory form of anthrax), to the strong resistance to environmental adverse conditions and to their high mobility in the air, anthrax endospores represent the ideal agent to perpetrate a spread with offensive purposes. Subway stations are densely frequented places, and are therefore a highly worthy objective for terrorists. The aim of this work is to determine, by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations of the airflow blowing anthrax endospores dropped on the platform of a subway station, the temporal evolution of their concentration, and to estimate the related health risk. COMSOL Multiphysics™ software was used to simulate the soproduced multiphase flow.