Posted on 10/08/2001 5:30:32 AM PDT by Maceman
Officials: Anthrax Shown in Co-Worker
| Monday, October 08, 2001 |
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — A co-worker of the man who died last week from anthrax also has tested positive for the disease and the building where both worked was closed after the bacterium was detected there.
The latest case, a man whose name was not immediately made public, was in stable condition Monday at an unidentified hospital, according to both the Florida and North Carolina health departments.
A nasal swab from the patient tested positive for the anthrax bacterium, said Tim O'Conner, regional spokesman for Florida's health department. It was not yet clear if anthrax had only infiltrated his nose, spread to his lungs or if he had a full-blown case of the disease.
The man's co-worker, Bob Stevens, died on Friday, the first person in 25 years in the United States to have died from a rare inhaled form of anthrax.
News that Stevens had contracted the disease set off fears of bio-terrorism, especially when it was revealed that Middle Eastern men were believed to have recently visited an airfield about 40 miles from Stevens' home in Lantana and asked questions about crop-dusters.
O'Conner said there is no evidence that either man was a victim of terrorism. ``That would take a turn in the investigation,'' he said. ``It's a different aspect, we were thinking more of environmental sources.''
Stevens, 63, was a photo editor at the supermarket tabloid The Sun. Environmental tests performed at the Sun's offices in Boca Raton detected the anthrax bacteria, said O'Conner.
The Sun's offices have been shuttered and law enforcement, local and state health and CDC officials were to take additional samples from the building on Monday, O'Conner said.
About 300 people who work in the building are being contacted by the Sun and instructed not come to work Monday and undergo antibiotic treatment to prevent the disease.
The FBI was helping in the search for the source of the bacterium, said Miami FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela. But ``the current risk of anthrax is extremely low,'' O'Conner said.
It was unclear when the final tests would tell whether or not the second man has full-blown anthrax. The bacterium normally has an incubation period of up to seven days, but could take up to 60 days to develop, O'Conner said.
``We're waiting for additional testing to see if it will become a confirmed case of anthrax or not,'' said Barbara Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. ``I realize for the public this is going to be a very slight distinction.''
Michael Kahane, vice president and general counsel of American Media Inc., which publishes the Sun and two other tabloids, the Globe and the National Enquirer, confirmed the company closed its Boca Raton building at the request of state health officials.
``We are cooperating with the department of health and all other governmental agencies investigating this matter,'' he said Monday. ``Obviously our first concern is the health and well-being of our employees and their families.''
Only 18 inhalation cases in the United States were documented in the 20th century, the most recent in 1976 in California. State records show the last anthrax case in Florida was in 1974.
Officials believe Stevens contracted anthrax naturally in Florida. The disease can be contracted from farm animals or soil, though the bacterium is not normally found among wildlife or livestock in the state. Stevens was described as an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing and gardening.
County medical examiners are looking over any unexplained deaths, but have not found any cases connected to anthrax. Veterinarians have been told to be on alert for animals who might have the disease, but none have turned up.
Health officials are checking intensive care units of area hospitals to check records going back 30 days for suspicious cases. They should be finished Monday, said O'Conner.
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Sorry for any confusion biology was never my strong science.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
Thank you. I said this on another anthrax thread the other day.
I do realize it is not contageous. I was just trying to refute the spores on his outdoor boots theory. Some government official might try that line, that he brought it into the office in clothing, ya know... spores on the boots, he props them on the desk and they fly around the news room.
It is obvious to me at least, that it is most likely that the office was exposed directly. Doesn't mean it was a mid east terrorist, but the chances of it being deliberate appear to be greater than not.
I agree, the attack wouldn't necessarily NEED to infect thousands of people to be effective...how many cases would you need to know about before you would start hanging out at the local mall/resort/hotel/office building etc if 5 or 6 people who worked their picked it up?
The effects on the psyche of the american people and the economy would be substantial imo.
Have we ruled out a goat or cow crawling into the duct work and dying?
No, the goat/cow may still be alive ...perhaps CDC is still trying to locate roving goat vector! :) ...Sorry I know this situation isn't funny; but, sometimes a little "graveyard humor" helps to break the tension!
It means that it's not anthrax - anthrax is gram positive. It's a staining technique used to identify bacteria. Basically you swish the bacteria in a stain solution and rinse them off. If the stain 'sticks' after rinsing they are positive. By combining this technique with some others, you can positively identify any known bacteria.
-bc
This is no time for the CDC to lie to us. We can be adults here. There are millions of work places, the chances of us being attacked at work is extremely minute. If they treated us like adults, and quit the random incident crapola, I think the american people could take it.
I want to wait and see what the test results from the 300 coworkers shows though. I feel sorry for those folks and their families right about now. Waiting for the results might be the longest few hours of their lives.
Are you on drugs? Anthrax? Florida has major targets and one little thing...A BUSH BROTHER AS GOVERNOR. I believe all of this is going strong right now and not 2 years ago because we have another President Bush and there is his brother in Florida. President Bush was in Florida during the attacks remember that. Terrorists came and trained and lived here. We have all of the major theme parks here. Palm Beach county had the worldwide attention of the election in 2000.
Take a look at Florida for a minute. It is far from an isolated attack. Something is up. Saddam tried to have Bush Sr. killed as well after he left office.
The CDC also has an update as of yesterday (the 7th). Click here and then choose the link under "News Items".
A Mapquest search for the "5401 NW Broker Sound" address comes up empty, but I'm getting a hit on the "33487-3589" zip code. It's a hop, skip and a jump from the Boca Raton airport.
When you go to this link, the red star at the very top of the map is the hit for the zip code (Near Yamato Rd). Note the proximity to the airport: http://www.mapquest.com/cgi-bin/ia_find?link=btwn/twn-map_results&south=1&uid=u3caseo7m4p5z4rd:tx1yz2uy
2&aphoto=0&SNVData=3mad3-5.fy%280zxh41_%29r7n90t%3bah7-%3d%3aPIR%17%2b%18%12JQR%3dS%1
3_larg0%3dbs5f%28%11E%3aa0lf8w%3d%3dy29uaa%3d0,rb%3b7%3bb5m-r2qfj5m%3be10h%284&pcat=
Wish I could stick around to comment, but gotta run.
Besides, I'm sure this is all just another "isolated and unrelated incident."
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