Sverdlovsk Anthrax Leak

Date: April 2, 1979 • Location: Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation

Spores of anthrax were accidentally released from a military research facility near the city of Sverdlovsk, causing at least 68 deaths.

In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, fungi and protozoa. They were thought to have appeared as early as the mid-late Ordovician period as an adaptation of early land plants.