Member-only story
The poison
In September 1984, state and local public health officials were baffled by a sudden upsurge in reported cases of salmonella poisoning, centered in rural Wasco County, Oregon. So many cases, several hundred, so suddenly, simply didn’t make any sense. The bacteria, which is highly contagious, causes cramps and diarrhea and is particularly devastating to pregnant women and the elderly. The effects can last a week or more and may require hospitalization.
They traced the majority of infections to restaurants that had salad bars. Though the findings weren’t conclusive, they ordered all the restaurants to close down the salad bars. As soon as they did, the rate of infections dropped to zero. The total number of people affected was over 700.
The salmonella attack is considered an act of biological terrorism. No one suspected the Rajneeshpuram Commune, a community of several thousand followers of an Indian guru named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh could be behind the strange and unexpected outbreak.
The Community
Hostilities between the locals and the Rajneeshpuram Commune, which was settled on 64,000 acres outside Antelope, Oregon, in 1981, started immediately. The first problem was the newcomers said they bought the land for agricultural purposes. But instead of crops, they…
