Thursday, October 11, 2001

Anthrax concerns linger in U.S.
By Amanda Riddle
Associated Press

BOCA RATON, Fla. — FBI agents wearing white moon suits and gas masks scoured the newspaper offices of two men whose exposure to anthrax has prompted heightened fear of bioterrorism across the country.

The search turned up no further sign of anthrax in Robert Stevens’ office since traces were discovered on his computer keyboard. Stevens, 63, a photo editor with the Sun tabloid, died last week of inhaled anthrax, a rare, particularly lethal form of the disease.

Preliminary testing at the federal labs on the anthrax that killed Stevens has found a possible match to a strain connected to an Iowa lab, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said further testing to definitively make the match could take several days.

Anthrax spores were also found in the nose of mailroom worker Ernesto Blanco, 73. He remained in good condition, Florida health department spokesman Tim O’Connor said.

O’Connor didn’t identify the hospital, but Raphael Miguel, Blanco’s stepson, said Wednesday that his stepfather was at Cedars Medical Center in Miami. He said Blanco was to be moved out of intensive care by the end of the day, adding, “We expect that his spirits will lift a little bit.”

Health officials said there have been no additional cases of contamination, but some 770 people were awaiting test results to determine whether they had contact with the anthrax at the Boca Raton headquarters of publisher American Media Inc. It could take days for the nasal swab test results to come back. Follow-up blood tests were also planned, and those results could take weeks.

The AMI building was shut down as FBI crews removed bags of evidence filled with plastic containers resembling Tupperware. One contained what appeared to be a next-day air envelope.

“We have in essence gone into the building, cleaned the building out, taken all samples possible and are following any possible trail,” President Bush said in Washington. “Thus far it looks like it’s a very isolated incident.”

The CDC has said it has virtually ruled out environmental causes as the source. Attorney General John Ashcroft has stated there is no indication of terrorism in the anthrax case, but said the case could become a “clear criminal investigation.”

Barbara Reynolds, spokesman for the CDC, said Wednesday that investigators are not assuming that Stevens was initially exposed in the newspaper office. “The most important question to answer is, where did the person who became ill, or anyone else exposed get that exposure?” she said.

On Tuesday, emergency officials responded to calls around the state about suspicious white powders being mailed or delivered to homes and businesses. The anthrax cases also prompted reports of possible infections in Texas and Wisconsin.
Firefighters in suburban Fort Lauderdale were quarantined for 12 hours, and officials closed a bank and law firm in Naples, on Florida’s west coast. Dozens of people were sent to hospitals for tests, but there were no reports of anyone becoming sick.

O’Connor said on Tuesday that it was “highly unlikely” that anthrax could be transported through a white powder.

In Temple Hills, Md., outside Washington, an armed man sprayed a substance into a subway station during a scuffle with police. Authorities took the man into custody and said it did not appear to be a terrorist act.

An Internal Revenue Service tax processing center in Covington, Ky., was locked down Tuesday after an employee reported receiving a letter that contained a white powder. Preliminary tests found no harmful substances, police said.

Health officials have emphasized that there is no public health threat. Anthrax tests at Stevens’ home were negative, said Dr. Jean Malecki, director of the Palm Beach Health Department.