Anthrax is back and bigger than ever. It was found on the set of the Jay Leno Show last Friday. It will be in San Francisco on Jan. 19. Not since “Spreading the Disease” debuted in 1985 has there been such a buzz about the 80s rock sensation.

That?s correct, readers; the big-hair band from Brooklyn, N.Y. is back in the spotlight. The boys are determined not to be infected, er, affected by the recent outbreaks of the disease that they happen to be named after. The mullet-toting quartet had this to say in an October press release: “In light of current events, we are changing the name of the band to something more friendly, ?Basket Full Of Puppies.?”

They go on to say, “In the 20 years we?ve been known as ?Anthrax,? we never thought the day would come that our name would actually mean what it really means.”

Talk about your free press.

The band is not actually changing its name, but they do send out their prayers and hopes for a quick end to the outbreaks.

The growing number of people infected by anthrax has sparked a bit of intrigue into the feeble mind of this humble columnist. What the hell is anthrax? If the word “anthrax” was typed into an Internet search engine a month ago, there would probably be two matches. The first match would have been the band?s Web site. The second match would probably have been to an animal husbandry grad student?s research paper from 1975.

Type “anthrax” into a search engine today and you will be inundated with matches. Sites ranging from the Department of Defense to a lecture from a bacteriology classes at a Wisconsin college now riddle the screen. Here is some information from the lecture that might be of some interest:

-The anthrax bacillus was the first bacterium shown to be the cause of a disease.

-Anthrax is primarily a disease of domesticated and wild animals.-The risk of infection in humans is about one in 100,000.

-Iraq, Russia, North Korea and as many as 10 nations have the capability to load spores of B. anthracis (anthrax) into weapons.-Anthrax spores can survive in the soil, water and on surfaces for many years. Spores can only be destroyed by steam sterilization or burning.

The above were just some of the tasty morsels in the notes from this lecture that was conducted Oct. 24.

The final and most alarming fact about the nation?s newest terror comes from a geocities.com site titled, “Everything You Need to Know About Anthrax.”

“One billionth of a gram of anthrax can kill one person,” according to the site.

Who is Anthrax trying to kid? With every form of media plastering the band?s name in all of their publications, they have to be gaining momentum on their comeback train. Honestly, have you ever heard an Anthrax song or seen one of their videos? Before the first announcements of anthrax causing the death of a man in Florida, did you even know that a band of the same name existed? It?s true that Jay Leno hosted the band on his Nov. 2 show. Check the booking date. Who got bumped in order for this has-been rock group to entertain America? I can just hear the masterminds at the Leno show: “OK folks. I?m just thinking out loud, but what if we book Anthrax? You know, because people keep getting anthrax, and it would be neat if we had Anthrax play, because they have the same name.”