Anthrax Found in House Office Complex
WASHINGTON (AP) - The anthrax threat widened as health inspectors found the potentially deadly bacteria in a House office building just a few blocks from the Capitol.
This latest discovery, in a bundling machine used to process mail for lawmakers, was "not an unexpected situation," according to a spokesman for the U.S. Capitol Police.
"It is exactly why we have been performing sampling throughout the Capitol complex," said Lt. Dan Nichols.
The swab of the machine was taken Wednesday, confirmed Saturday and marked the first time traces of anthrax have been found on the House side of Capitol Hill.
Also, Washington health officials said a man who works in the city's central mail handling facility, which processed a contaminated letter sent to the Senate majority leader, was hospitalized with an infection and flu-like symptoms that suggest anthrax, though doctors do not yet know if he has the disease.
The man, whose name was not released, was in a Virginia hospital. Test results were expected Sunday.
The latest developments capped a week that put Congress into the middle of the anthrax-by-letter scare and more than doubled the number of Americans infected. Hazardous materials teams have worked their way across Capitol Hill since anthrax was discovered in a letter delivered to the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
Meanwhile in New Jersey, federal agents retraced a postal route, searching for the mailbox in which someone may have deposited letters laced with anthrax.
President Bush vowed to fight the "act of terror" that has killed one person, sickened seven others, forced thousands to undergo preventive treatment and frightened millions more.
Speaking from China where he was attending an international trade meeting, the president said there was no evidence the anthrax letters were linked to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Investigators focused their work on Trenton, N.J., where the letters to Daschle and NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw were mailed. More than 150 FBI agents and postal inspectors were on the scene.
A letter mailed to the New York Post postmarked Trenton has tested positive for anthrax and is similar to anthrax-laced letters sent to Brokaw and Daschle, law enforcers said.
The letter addressed to the "Editor" at the Post was postmarked Sept. 18 _ the same day as a contaminated letter sent to Brokaw. The letter to Daschle was postmarked Oct. 9.
Investigators have concentrated on Trenton since a letter carrier there contracted skin anthrax. They are combing houses, apartments and the few businesses along her route for clues.
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