US Embassy in Lithuania may have anthrax traces
Date: 02-Nov-01
Country: USA
"Preliminary results show trace amounts of what appears to be anthrax present in two of five mail bags that were sent to the laboratory for examination," spokesman Richard Boucher said, adding that results would be confirmed within 48 to 72 hours.
The State Department is one of many federal agencies in Washington affected by an anthrax scare after the potentially deadly biological warfare agent was sent through the mail, contaminating post offices and machinery.
Traces have already been found at two mailrooms in the main State Department building and in a pouch sent to Peru. A 49-year-old man also fell ill with inhalation anthrax at an off-site State Department mail sorting center in northern Virginia.
Boucher said the Vilnius embassy had sealed off the mailroom and antibiotics were available to employees that wanted them.
He said random checks would be carried out for further contamination in the State Department.
Four people have died, and another 12 people have been confirmed as suffering from anthrax in New Jersey, New York, Washington and Florida after the deadly bacteria were sent in a number of letters in the last month.
