Oct 8, 2001

Officials: Tests Show Presence of Anthrax in Second Florida Man

By Amanda Riddle Associated Press Writer

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) - Preliminary tests show the presence of anthrax in a second Florida man, but it was not yet clear if he has a full-blown case of the disease that killed one of his co-workers last week, officials said early Monday.

A nasal swab from the man, whose name was not immediately made public, tested positive for the bacteria that causes anthrax, said Tim O'Conner, regional spokesman for the Florida Department of Health.

O'Conner said he couldn't say that the second case was related to terrorism.

"That would take a turn in the investigation," said O'Conner. "It's a different aspect, we were thinking more of environmental" sources.

"We did get a positive nasal sample from a person who is a person who worked with the person who died," of anthrax, confirmed Barbara Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The second man was in stable condition at an unidentified hospital, according to a statement issued late Sunday night by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Authorities in North Carolina also have looking for possible sources of anthrax since last week, when Bob Stevens, who worked at the supermarket tabloid the Sun, was confirmed to be suffering from anthrax. Stevens, of Lantana, Fla., died of the disease on Friday.

Stevens, the first person in 25 years in the United States to catch a case of the rare and deadly inhalation form of anthrax, had recently visited North Carolina.

It was unclear when the final tests would tell whether or not the second man has anthrax. The bacteria 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 Reynolds said in a telephone interview from Atlanta. "I realize for the public this is going to be a very slight distinction."

In addition, environmental tests performed at the Sun's offices in Boca Raton have detected the anthrax bacteria, said O'Conner, who was reading from a statement he said would be made public later Monday by Florida Secretary of Health John Agwunobi.

The Sun's offices have been closed off and law enforcement, local and state health and CDC officials were to take additional samples from the building later Monday, O'Conner said.

The FBI was helping in the search for the source of the bacteria, said Miami FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela.

Employees at the newspaper would not be going to work Monday, O'Conner said.

He said about 300 people who work in the building are being contacted by the Sun and instructed to undergo antibiotic treatment to prevent the disease.

But "the current risk of anthrax is extremely low," O'Conner said.

People who have just been visitors to the building, he said, should not seek antibiotic treatment.

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, declined comment early Monday.

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. ^---

On the Net:

CDC: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/Anthrax/Anthrax.asp

AP-ES-10-08-01 0205EDT

This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGAGRB7VJSC.html

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Answers

Bumping this for the "Recent Answers" crowd.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Mebs forwarded this to me and I've sent it on to Barefoot. Scary.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Actually, the CNN report sent by mebs is slightly different. Note it mentions air samples were taken and that "environmental samples" showed the presence of the bacillus. I hope this doesn't mean the bacillus was introduced via the AC. . .

Health officials close building where anthrax victim worked October 8, 2001 Posted: 2:03 AM EDT (0603 GMT)

BOCA RATON, Florida (CNN) -- State and local health officials on Sunday closed down the building in which a 63-year-old Florida man who died of anthrax worked, after a sample from the building and from another employee showed the presence of the bacterium that causes anthrax.

Authorities closed the American Media Inc. building and the company voluntarily evacuated employees who were there working Sunday evening, said a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Emergency Management Office.

Robert Stevens, a photographer for a newspaper with offices in that building, died Friday of inhalation anthrax. He checked into the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, on Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, is heading the investigation into how Stevens contracted the disease. A statement from the CDC said that Bacillis anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, was found in the nasal sample of another man who worked in the building. The man does not have anthrax, but the presence of the bacterium shows he has been exposed to the disease.

An environmental sample taken from inside the building has also shown the presence of Bacillis anthracis, but the results from several other samples taken will not be available for several days, the CDC statement said.

The emergency management spokeswoman said the samples included air samples.

The CDC said the current risk of workers or visitors to the building contracting anthrax is extremely low, but public health officials have begun to contact personnel who worked in the building since August 1 to give them preventative antibiotics. Such antibiotics given before the symptoms of anthrax appear can prevent the disease.

Health officials stressed that the disease is not contagious from one person to another.

Stevens fell ill after a recent trip to North Carolina, but a Florida state epidemiologist said he did not believe Stevens contracted the disease during his trip because the incubation period for anthrax is between six and 45 days, a period which would not have included his trip.

Anthrax -- considered to be a potential agent for use in biological warfare -- is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis which commonly occurs in cattle, sheep, goats, and other herbivores. Humans can become infected when they are exposed to infected animals or tissue from infected animals.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Thanks for the post! This is not good news! I had read an article a few days ago about this man who just now was reported to be the second person to have been exposed to anthrax, and when I went back to find the article again...it had been pulled. This has taught me to post articles, just in case they may become important later.

When I heard about all the kids that got sick in Ill., I wondered if the school put on the heat for the first time in the building.

11:14 AM Central time

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

A question for you all - this building didn't include the printing facilities, did it?

There's been quite a bit of concern over at TB2K about the magazines being infected, but, I am unsure of that. I used to work for a printing company and they did a lot of off-site printing for large companies (Bank One, etc...). I'm wondering if the Enquire did the same thing.

Thanks!

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

From what the investogators are saying, it sounds as if the bacillus was inhaled from the air. I would hazard a guess that the odds of any printed magazines being infected are slim to none--based on the available info so far.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Monday, October 8 10:51 PM SGT

Second Florida man is infected with anthrax

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (AFP) - The FBI Monday opened an investigation into the case of a second man found infected with anthrax in the southern state of Florida, the White House said, adding that there was nothing to link the outbreak with a bioterrorism attack.

Florida state health officials announced Monday that a second person had been discovered INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE just days after a colleague at his newspaper job died from the deadly bacteria.

"The FBI has said they are investigating," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "There is no evidence to suggest anything yet."

Florida's Department of Health spokesman Frank Penela said of the most recent case that the "man does not have the illness but a nasal swab was done and he tested positive."

The man, whose name was not released, has been hospitalized and was in stable condition, he added. He was being tested to see how the bacteria had entered his system.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease, WITH SYMPTOMS USUALLY APPEARING WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF EXPOSURE. Ways of contracting the disease include cutaneous exposure, intestinal exposure and through inhalation, which is often fatal.

In the earlier case, Robert Stevens, an employee at the tabloid Sun newspaper, died Friday at a local hospital, apparently after inhaling anthrax spores, health authorities said.

"THE BACTERIUM WAS FOUND ON HIS KEYBOARD," Penela said.

Penela added that the building had been closed while the 300 employees there were being tested for the disease.

Officials said victims can fall ill after exposure to naturally- occurring anthrax, but many fear that the bacteria is a potential weapon of choice for bioterrorists.

Scientists have warned that terrorists may be planning such attacks in the wake of the September 11 strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Health officials said after the initial anthrax outbreak however, that the case was isolated and not linked to any biological terrorist attack.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said last week sporadic cases of anthrax do occur in the United States, pointing to two reported US cases he was aware of -- one in Florida in 1974 and the other within the last year in Texas, adding it was "entirely possible" there have been other, undocumented cases.

Thompson on Wednesday appeared before a Senate appropriations subcommittee to request 800 million dollars to boost the public health resources in response to an increased threat of bioterrorism.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

URL for the above article:

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

One more time.

Url: LINK

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

According to an article at Freepers, this fellow worked at the mailroom for a business that published many different periodicals. It certainly does NOT sound good!

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3bc1dc31440d.htm

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The offices of the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer were closed by state and federal authorities Monday after a second employee was found to be exposed to anthrax and one environmental sample from the offices in Boca Raton, Fla., also tested positive for the deadly bacteria.

An employee of the tabloid's parent company, American Media, died from anthrax infection Friday.

At a news conference Monday, Dr. Jean Malecki, director of the Palm Beach County Health Department said a second man, a Miami resident, apparently was exposed to anthrax.

"We have evidence that this man was exposed to anthrax, but this is very different from a case of anthrax," Malecki said. "Someone could have breathed in an anthrax spore and not come down with the disease." She noted that a large amount of anthrax spores would be required to cause symptoms.

The man who was exposed is hospitalized with flu-like symptoms, but not symptoms of anthrax. "He is in stable condition," Malecki said. "We have no other cases of anthrax infection, and we have no other suspected cases."

Sources said the man works in the mailroom for American Media which publishes the Star, Globe, Weekly World News, Examiner and Sun tabloid newspapers as well as other publications.

Robert Stevens, 63, of Lantana, Fla., died Friday from anthrax infection. Malecki said one isolate of anthrax was recovered from Stevens' keyboard in his American Media office.

Because of the exposure to the Miami man and the finding of the isolate in his office, Malecki said the department of health and the Federal Bureau of Investigation ordered that the building be closed so that further testing could be performed. Malecki said that all 300 employees of American Media would be offered antibiotics prophylactics at county health department offices Monday.

She said that nasal swabs would be taken from each employee as well Monday, and blood would be drawn from the employees at a later date to determine if anyone else was exposed. She said visitors to the American Media complex were also being treated as employees.

"We don't know how long the building will be closed," said Steve Coz, head of editorial operations for American Media. "We have other arrangements for publishing the papers," Coz told United Press International.

Because of heightened awareness of possible bioterrorism - with anthrax as one factor considered, - health department officials as well as the FBI have been scrutinizing the case in Florida. Several of the suspected terrorists lived in Palm Beach County.

The Miami office of the FBI, said, in a statement released Sunday night: "To assist the Centers for Disease Control, the FBI is conducting an investigation to help locate the source of anthrax bacteria that has been identified in Florida. Every step is being taken to quickly identify the source and determine how individuals were infected."

However, Timothy O'Connor, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Health Department, said that all tests done on the anthrax samples found in Stevens appear to be natural in origin. More sophisticated genetic tests on the samples are underway.

Malecki said that while the focus of the investigation is now on the American Media building in Boca Raton, officials are still spreading their net in search of other possible exposure points.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Mail room, as in in coming mail??? Just thinking out loud.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001

Tuesday, October 9 2:19 AM SGT

FBI taking second anthrax "very seriously": Ashcroft

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (AFP) - The FBI is taking the appearance of a second case of anthrax in the southern state of Florida "very seriously," US Attorney General John Ashcroft said Monday, adding that he could not rule out the possibility of a bioterrorist attack.

"We have not ruled out anything at this time," Ashcroft told reporters.

Florida state health officials announced Monday that a second person had been discovered infected with the disease just days after a colleague at his newspaper job died from the deadly bacteria.

Ashcroft said authorities had sealed the building

The man, whose name was not released, has been hospitalized and was in stable condition, he added. He was being tested to see how the bacteria had entered his system.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease, with symptoms appearing usually within seven days of exposure. Ways of contracting the disease include cutaneous exposure, intestinal exposure and through inhalation, which is often fatal

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001