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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Still under investigation, but being reported as a false alarm. . . .
source: http://www.wsvn.com/news/local/box1/
Mystery powder causes 8 to be treated in Hialeah
Posted: October 8, 2001 07:30 AM
(Hialeah-AP) -- Eight people from two homes are being treated after receiving manila envelopes containing a mysterious white powder.
The F-B-I says preliminary tests on the powder show it does NOT contain any chemical or biological toxins. But more tests are being done to make sure.
The first envelope was discovered Saturday. Jacinto Perez was going through his mail when he opened a business-size envelope containing the powder. He and others in the house later developed low-grade fevers after arriving at Palm Springs General Hospital. All have been released.
On Sunday, about six blocks away, Pedro Rodriguez was throwing out an unopened envelope when he heard a popping sound and saw a white powder trickle out. He later felt a burning sensation on his arm. He and his family are under observation.
Thanks for this info. Gram negative or gram positive is a means of identifying bacteria. Anthrax is gram positive meaning when dyed it shows a positive image. Microbiology is not my strong suit I realy on Mrs Harpseal's knowledge there. A gram negative anthrax would be a designer bug in her opinion.
Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
Our medical teams from the CDC did not have this revalation yesterday......The first places checked would be home and office....24 hours for a culture and firm confirmation.....
This means that Tommy Thompson's press conference last week was a sham....The intent was to suppress a panic in the hope that the inicident was isolated....
How these offices became infected is still speculative but the fact that this is NOT naturally occuring leaves pause.
The terrorists may be unable to successfully deliver large quanities of weapon grade anthrax to the general populace but apparently they seem content in delivering small amounts of regular run-of-the-mill anthrax in non-military manner.
The yield would be low but the effect of terror would be enormus......
NeverGore
But if you don't smoke, you'll be fine. </sarcasm
It's been a few years since I worked in a lab, but I've gram stained a lot of hospital cultures. While I haven't worked with anthrax, I have stained its Bacillis cousins many times. There is no mistaking the staining characteristics - it's a strong positive. If it's coming up Gram negative, they're dealing with a different critter. There are MANY Gram-negative rods, including most intestinal flora.
Cattle feed lot on the floor above - happens evey time.
On MSNBC, there is a picture showing a man holding a plastic bag full of stuff captioned "An unidentified official carries a bag of tubes from Bob Stevens' home in Lantana, Fla., on Friday." This still may be a "science experiment" gone wrong.
Does anyone know where he was in North Carolina, and what he was doing there?
If the anthrax 'found in the building' was limited to the dead victim's computer keyboard (see earlier in the thread) I can't see this any a terrorist act.
I'm not worried about this. Not yet. Too soon to tell.
That's interesting especially since he was near 2 universities. maybe he was trying to make his own vaccines.
I wonder what might turn up on FBI background checks on any of these people.
Any new employees with unsavory ties to certain organizations
Just wondering....
A gram negative anthrax would be an impossibility. The gram stain procedure is designed to differentiate the exposed peptidoglycans in the cell membrane. A gram positive organism has exposed peptidoglycans, whereas a gram negative organism does not.
This defining cell wall characteristic is inherent to the organism, and defines it's metabolic characteristics as well. If the organism is gram negative, then it is not bacillus anthracis.
Anthrax is also a comparatively large organism (among the largest) and is distinctive in this way as well.
It's quite possible the official brought the tubes with him to put samples in.
Does anyone know where he was in North Carolina, and what he was doing there?
As I recall from news stories, he was taking his son to start fall semester at a college there.
Keep moving, people. Mystery solved. Your trusty government has it all under control. No need to worry, no terrorism here.
The yield would be low but the effect of terror would be enormus....
Growing up a large quantity of Anthrax while maintaining virulence, and then succesfully aeosolizing it so that a large number of people become infected is, I think, quite difficult.
Puffing around some spores and infecting one or two people would be easy, I fear.
What is the goal here? If you want to spread terror, a few scattered cases of Anthrax will do very nicely. You don't have to kill many people before our economy grinds to a halt. People will be afraid to leave the house.
I suspect the media and the government are putting on a full-court press to try and suppress panic here.
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