The Dalles, Oregon is a quaint community of nearly 13,000 that
lies on the banks of the Columbia River.
It is the county seat of Wasco County in northern Oregon. Back in 1981 the local Big Muddy Ranch was
sold and within three years became a thriving religious community. The ranch was incorporated as a city,
Rajneeshees. At its peak the city had a
population of 7,000 followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. It did not take long for the new city to be embroiled
in a string of disputes with the nearest city, Antelope Oregon, and the county.
In 1984 the followers of Rajneesh ran for election in two of the
open seats on the Wasco county circuit court.
Fearing that they did not have enough votes to win Rajneesh followers
decided to influence the electorate in an unusual way. Today we see attack ads that may sometimes contain
a small kernel of truth. But that is
child’s play. Rather the followers of
Rajneesh made the concerted effort to limit the number of voters by poisoning
many local salad bars with salmonella.
First two Wasco county commissioners were deliberately poisoned and became ill, one was hospitalized. Next salmonella was spread on the doorknobs and urinal handles in the courthouse. But again, not enough people became ill. The community then spread salmonella on ten different salad bars through the city. According to a paper published in JAMA in 1997 that details the public health investigation, 751 people became ill. The poisoning occurred in two waves and lasted from September 9 to October 10. After ruling out all of the normal modes of disease transmission it was confirmed that the mass poisoning was caused by a single strain of salmonella typhimurium. The bacterium was found in stool samples of the ill, on the food from the restaurants and in the laboratory of the commune. Common symptoms of the victims included fever, chills, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The victims ranged in age from a newborn to an 87 year-old. (A Large Community Outbreak of Salmonellosis Caused by Intentional Contamination of Restaurant Salad Bars. JAMA. 1997;278(5):389-95)
So what happened to the election? When rumors spread throughout Wasco County that the commune was behind the poisonings, voters showed up in big numbers. The Rajneeshees eventually withdrew their candidates from the ballot. The terrorist plot was foiled.
First two Wasco county commissioners were deliberately poisoned and became ill, one was hospitalized. Next salmonella was spread on the doorknobs and urinal handles in the courthouse. But again, not enough people became ill. The community then spread salmonella on ten different salad bars through the city. According to a paper published in JAMA in 1997 that details the public health investigation, 751 people became ill. The poisoning occurred in two waves and lasted from September 9 to October 10. After ruling out all of the normal modes of disease transmission it was confirmed that the mass poisoning was caused by a single strain of salmonella typhimurium. The bacterium was found in stool samples of the ill, on the food from the restaurants and in the laboratory of the commune. Common symptoms of the victims included fever, chills, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The victims ranged in age from a newborn to an 87 year-old. (A Large Community Outbreak of Salmonellosis Caused by Intentional Contamination of Restaurant Salad Bars. JAMA. 1997;278(5):389-95)
So what happened to the election? When rumors spread throughout Wasco County that the commune was behind the poisonings, voters showed up in big numbers. The Rajneeshees eventually withdrew their candidates from the ballot. The terrorist plot was foiled.
Poisoning and politics.
Will we be reading next month of an election influenced by the verbal
poison of the candidates and the venom of special interest groups? Hopefully we will not be reading about a
power grab made with the assistance of one of life’s oldest political friends. And
yes, it can even happen in your backyard.
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