You work for the DHS and have just received a call from a group of researchers at the USDA to consult on a case of unusual fatal food poisoning in Wisconsin due to contaminated cheese. Based on 16S...

You work for the DHS and have just received a call from a group of researchers at the USDA to consult on a case of unusual fatal food poisoning in Wisconsin due to contaminated cheese. Based on 16S rRNA gene analysis, the researchers identified the pathogen as Listeria monocytogenes. This new, highly virulent strain appears to cause symptoms of listeriosis even in previously healthy, immunocompetent individuals, including fever, headache, muscle ache, nausea, and vomiting. However, over 1 to 3 days, these are followed by the onset of anasarca (severe edema, with widespread swelling and accumulation of fluid in all of the tissues and cavities of the body at the same time), stiff neck, disorientation, convulsions, and, in most cases, death within 1 to 2 days of onset. Autopsy of individuals who died showed that bacteria were present throughout the body. The researchers subsequently determined that in tissue culture this highly virulent Listeria strain could invade epithelial and endothelial cells and could spread from cell to cell. They also found that similar disease symptoms occurred in mice fed cheese inoculated with the bacteria. The researchers also discovered that injection of medium from cell cultures into mice resulted in massive edema. In your expert opinion as a microbiologist and researcher in the field of bacterial pathogenesis, is there plausible cause for the DHS to be concerned that the incident described above could be a potential act of bioterrorism? Be sure to state your rationale.