In 2008, a man was hospitalized for ricin poisoning in Las Vegas, Nevada. The police later retrieved two vials of the poison made from ricin beans form his hotel room along with weapons and a book on anarchy. Fortunately, the toxin’s effects did not spread to the general public. The incident was later investigated on suspicion of bioterrorism.
Bathen’s case study provides a summary of the Las Vegas ricin incident and analyze in detail the event’s epidemiological aftermaths, its management, as well as its public communication.