Anthrax found in Kansas City, health officials say
Date: 02-Nov-01
Country: USA
They said the potentially deadly spores are believed to have been carried on 14 trays containing more than 7,000 pieces of mail sent from the Brentwood mail processing center in Washington, D.C., where two postal workers have died of the disease.
No one who works at the Kansas City facility has shown any signs of illness, but all are being encouraged to begin taking antibiotics as a precaution, said Rex Archer, director of the Kansas City Health Department.
The facility, known as a "stamp fulfillment center", handles the cancellation of collectible stamps. It has been closed indefinitely.
Archer cautioned that although the initial tests were positive, confirmation would not come until tests conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are completed. Those results may be available Thursday, he said.
Earlier this week, anthrax spores were found in Indiana, where postal equipment had been sent from Washington to a repair and cleaning facility, Gov. Frank O'Bannon said.
The CDC conducted tests and found spores on one machine, but the amount found was "not a serious quantity," according to the governor's office. No one there has shown signs of infection.
Four people have died in the U.S. from anthrax this month and a total of 16 people have contracted one or other form of the disease.
