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Posted on 10/06/2001 2:31:24 AM PDT by JohnHuang2

So far, the search in S. Florida for other anthrax cases is negative

BY JENNIFER BABSON AND DAVID GREEN
dgreen@herald.com

State and federal health officials fanned out through more than a dozen Palm Beach County hospitals Friday, scouring records in search of possible misdiagnosed anthrax cases.

So far, health officials say, they have found no evidence of a misdiagnosis.

And their increased scrutiny could eventually widen to include hospitals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, health officials said.

The Florida Department of Health, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is reviewing the charts of all patients admitted to Palm Beach intensive care units since the suicide attacks on Sept. 11. Health officials are reviewing the records of patients who had blood or cerebrospinal cultures taken, according to a memo the department issued Thursday to all Palm Beach County hospitals.

The review comes the same day that a Palm Beach County man died of anthrax. The CDC and Department of Health are ``instituting enhanced surveillance for any previously undetected or potential future anthrax cases.''

The objectives of the unusual monitoring: ``Identifying previous cases of human anthrax occurring in Palm Beach County since Sept. 11, 2001'' and ``identifying future cases.''

Hospitals were requested to fax information on cases fitting that criteria to the health department's Palm Beach office.

State epidemiologist Steven Wiersma said Friday that the state may soon press hospitals in other South Florida counties -- such as Broward, Miami-Dade, and those up the Treasure Coast -- to compile similar information.

Some were already anticipating such a request.

``Our director of the infectious disease section said he's been on the phone continually to see if there are any updates,'' said Sara Howley, spokeswoman for Broward General Medical Center.

``We are keeping an eye out for anything or everything.''

In Palm Beach, state and federal medical investigators made the rounds -- checking charts, reviewing blood tests, and ruling out additional anthrax cases.

Fourteen Palm Beach hospitals were conducting their own reviews, looking at old cases -- dating back 60 days -- to see whether any showed a constellation of symptoms typical to anthrax.

Those symptoms include meningitis, high fever, pneumonia and severe shortness of breath, according to health department spokesman Tim O'Connor.

By Friday evening, a third of the hospitals contacted by The Herald reported completing their reviews. None had found cases involving all four symptoms.

``We have not had anything like that,'' said Frank Canonica, director of marketing and community relations at Palms West Hospital in West Palm Beach.

Some South Florida medical examiner's offices were also reassessing old cases. In Palm Beach County, pathologists were doing informal reviews, mentally going back through old cases to see whether any resembled anthrax in their symptoms. So far, none was found.

``Off the top of my head, none seemed like anthrax,'' said Dr. Peter Gillespie, associate medical examiner with the office in West Palm Beach. ``Anthrax is a pretty recognizable organism.''

In Broward County, pathologists were not rechecking old cases, said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Joshua Perper. However, Perper said, personnel were on the lookout for anything resembling anthrax.

Miami-Dade Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Bruce Hyma said a check showed no cases of anthrax had come through his office.

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