WRAPUP - Anthrax hits third US network, spreads to Kenya
Date: 19-Oct-01
Country: USA
Author: Christopher Wilson
All three major U.S. television networks now have been hit by anthrax infections heightening public anxiety at the growing number of incidents, which have unsettled germ warfare experts and raised fears of a systematic biological attack.
A parade of U.S. health and security officials, reacting to criticism their response to the threat has been muddled and uncoordinated, appeared on television to reassure Americans that the public health system was coping.
"Thousands and thousands of people have been tested for anthrax exposure and thousands of environmental samples have been taken as well, yet only five people have tested positive at this time for anthrax," the U.S. director of homeland security, Tom Ridge, said at his first news conference.
"The American people can have confidence that their government is working around the clock to protect them."
Shortly after he spoke, a sixth case of the disease was confirmed in New Jersey when a postal worker tested positive for the disease.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said his agency was working hard to detect new outbreaks and track down those responsible. "We are following each and every lead that will provide us with the identity and proof of who is behind these attacks ... we will expose and bring to justice those responsible."
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The U.S. government also announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for sending anthrax. All the cases so far have been caused by letters laced with anthrax spores sent through the mail.
Washington suspects, but has no firm evidence, that the spread of the bacteria is tied to Osama bin Laden, the man it blames for the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on the United States.
Anxiety that anthrax could spread to other parts of the world rose when Kenya became the first country outside America to confirm a case of exposure to the potentially deadly bacteria from a contaminated letter received from Atlanta, Georgia.
Governments around the world have stepped up security in response to the anthrax threat.
In Moscow, the Kremlin tightened security after a rash of scares and part of the Australian government in Canberra was evacuated for five hours after a package spilled out white powder. Later tests showed it contained no anthrax.
Security guards also sealed off a mail room in France's lower house of parliament after finding a suspect letter. In Birmingham, England, more than 600 workers were evacuated from a mail center and 15 were taken to the hospital for tests.
At the U.S. Capitol in Washington, biological hazard teams scoured office buildings after 31 congressional staffers tested positive for exposure, prompting closure of the House of Representatives.
Deputy Surgeon General Ken Moritsugu helped to sooth nerves by announcing that tests had found no infections among the staffers and no new exposures.
"This is very good news. I'm very optimistic about the overall state of affairs," said Republican Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Senate's only medical doctor.
WHO HAILS INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
In Geneva, the World Health Organization applauded the international response to the onslaught, saying people should be reassured the threat was being confronted effectively.
"Public health systems have shown a great ability to react," said David Nabarro, a senior WHO official.
Family doctors and health authorities in many U.S. cities have been swamped by calls from nervous people demanding nasal swabs and prescriptions for Cipro, the most sought-after antibiotic to fight the bacteria.
Anthrax can be contracted by breathing in the spores of the bacteria, by ingestion and by contact with the skin.
The cases at the three major television networks in New York have all been the less deadly type of skin anthrax, but in Florida one man died and another was receiving treatment for respiratory anthrax infections.
The CBS employee exposed to anthrax -