Summary of Anthrax Letters Cases
By MATT CRENSON
AP National Writer
Public health officials have discovered anthrax in three states and the District of Columbia in the past two weeks. Tests indicate that at least 12 people either have anthrax or were exposed to the anthrax spores. One person has died.
So far, all of the anthrax appears to have been delivered in letters. Most were mailed inside the United States, but one sent to an office in Reno, Nev., came from Malaysia.
With four documented cases, countless hoaxes and rumors about connections to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the story has many tentacles. Here is a state-by-state summary of the situation so far:
Florida:
Robert Stevens, photo editor of the Sun, died Oct. 5 from inhaling anthrax spores. Seven other employees of American Media Inc., publisher of the Sun and other supermarket tabloids, were exposed to anthrax, a fact determined through nasal swabs and blood tests on 400 employees. All 400 were put on antibiotics as a preventive measure.
Suspicions first centered on a piece of mail received about a week before the Sept. 11 attacks. It contained a love letter to Jennifer Lopez, a soapy powder and a Star of David charm.
The FBI has dismissed that letter as the source of the anthrax, and said the investigation indicates Stevens never handled that letter. No other potential sources have been found.
Tests also revealed anthrax on a computer keyboard that Stevens used.
On Monday, authorities found traces of anthrax in the Boca Raton post office that handles American Media's mail. Thirty employees who work in that mail sorting area were put on antibiotics, but initial nasal swabs did not indicate anthrax exposure.
New York:
Two letters sent to NBC News were tested when it was discovered that an assistant to news anchor Tom Brokaw had been exposed to anthrax. The assistant, Erin O'Connor, had the anthrax skin infection, which is rarely fatal and was being treated by antibiotics.
One of the letters was postmarked Sept. 18 from Trenton, N.J. When that one was opened, a sandy substance fell out and was brushed into a trash can.
The second letter was postmarked Sept. 20 from St. Petersburg, Fla. That one contained a powdery substance.
Tests determined that the letter from New Jersey contained anthrax, but the second letter did not. A second employee from NBC had symptoms of the skin form of anthrax, but has not tested positive for it.
A police detective and two health department lab technicians later tested positive for the bacteria after handling the letter. They were put on antibiotics.
Nevada:
A state health department test Friday indicated the presence of anthrax in a mysterious letter containing pornographic pictures and mailed from Malaysia to a Microsoft office in Reno. The pictures appeared to have been soaked in a liquid. Also in the envelope was a check Microsoft had sent to a vendor in Malaysia.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is conducting further tests on the material.
Six Microsoft employees who handled the mail have tested negative for anthrax exposure.
Washington, D.C.:
Field tests of a letter opened Monday by aides in Sen. Tom Daschle's office indicated the presence of anthrax. Like the NBC letter, it contained a powdery substance and was postmarked Sept. 18 in Trenton, N.J.
The letter and its contents were sent to the Army medical research facility at Fort Detrick, Md., for further testing. Those exposed were put on antibiotics.
New Jersey:
Postal inspectors announced Monday that a mail carrier and post office maintenance employee in Trenton, where at least two anthrax-tainted letters were mailed, have shown symptoms of the disease. The mail carrier, who has flu-like symptoms, has started taking antibiotics. The maintenance employee, who has a poison ivy-like rash, has not yet received treatment.
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