New anthrax infections were reported yesterday in New York and New Jersey and in Washington, the federal government announced new measures in the investigation as Congress recovers from an anthrax attack earlier this week (see GSN, Oct. 18).

Two new anthrax infections were discovered yesterday in New York and New Jersey.  Both were the cutaneous, or skin, anthrax infection.  A postal worker in Trenton, New Jersey, has been infected.  The postal worker's mail route was processed by the Trenton regional mail-sorting center, which processed the tainted letters sent to NBC News and the offices of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.  The worker has been on antibiotics, according to the New York Times, and is expected to recover fully. 

A CBS News aide to Dan Rather in New York also tested positive after a skin biopsy was performed on tissue from her left cheek. It's possible that the aide handled a contaminated letter and was exposed to a small amount of anthrax before throwing it away, according to the Times.  "She is absolutely fine," said a friend.  "She is healthy and in good spirits."  New York health officials doubted that there was any further threat to CBS employees.  "If there was a significant public health risk there, there would have been more illnesses," said Stephen Ostroff, chief epidemiologist at the National Center for Infectious Diseases.  "There isn't.  So this must be basically negligible."

Six people have been confirmed to be infected with anthrax so far: three in New York, two in Florida and one in New Jersey.  At least 41 others in Washington, New York, Florida and New Jersey have tested positive for exposure to the disease.  In Washington, a worker at a post office that handles mail for Congress was exposed but not ill, according to the Washington Post. (Eric Lipton, New York Times, Oct. 19).  A second New Jersey postal worker yesterday was reported to show symptoms of skin anthrax.  Other possible cases in New York and Florida were being examined, said officials (Lancaster/Dewar, Washington Post, Oct. 19).

What the U.S. Government Is Doing

Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (see GSN, Oct. 9), along with Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Surgeon General David Satcher and other government officials, held a press conference yesterday to outline U.S. plans for investigating and treating the anthrax occurrences. 

People who were conducting anthrax hoaxes were singled out by Ashcroft and warned they would be punished.  "People who use this time in our country as an opportunity to compound the concern of Americans through hoaxes will pay a serious price because we intend to prosecute these offenses to the fullest extent of the law," Ashcroft said.  Anthrax hoaxes fell under the category of two laws, according to Ashcroft.  One was the mailing of communications that contain any threat to injure a person, which carried a penalty of up to five years in prison.  The other prohibits the threatened use of a biological toxin, which has a penalty of up to life in prison and "a potential for very serious fines," said Ashcroft.  Four people have already been charged in connection with anthrax hoaxes, said Ashcroft, and the FBI was working with state and local law enforcement on other cases.  Two people lied to federal law enforcement officials about their knowledge of a hoax, according to Ashcroft.  Two others falsely threatened to use biological weapons.  "The message is clear," Ashcroft said.  "Anyone who participates in or perpetrates a false threat of anthrax ... will be prosecuted."

The FBI has announced a $1 million reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the anthrax mailings, said Director Mueller.  In an average year, the FBI handles about 250 assessments and responses to incidents of chemical or biological agents, according to Mueller.  In the past 18 days, the FBI has handled more than 3,300, Mueller said.

Postmaster General John Potter said the Post Service will be mailing a card to everyone in the United States that will outline what they should be suspicious of in the mail.  A poster is being issued to mail rooms so staff will know what to look out for.  "The best defense that we have right now is and educated American public, an educated workforce, both the employees of the Postal Service and those who work in mail rooms," Potter said.

The public should know that Cipro is not the only drug on hand to treat anthrax and that several varieties of penicillin and tetracycline can also be used (see GSN, Oct. 18), said Surgeon General Satcher.  The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to label those drugs so physicians will know they can be used, according to Satcher, adding the treatment often starts with ciprofloxacin and once sensitivities are determined, the patient is moved to other drugs.  "All of the strains that have been identified are sensitive to the antibiotics we have.  They're sensitive to ciprofloxacin, and in most cases sensitive to penicillin and to tetracycline," said Satcher.  Doctors should not needlessly prescribe Cipro.  "We do not believe that treatment for anxiety in patients is to give them prescriptions," Satcher said, adding that the overuse of penicillin has led to its diminished capacity for use.

Ridge was questioned again about his overall authority and role in the event of a large-scale bioterroism attack. "It's like a conductor of an orchestra; the music doesn't start playing until he taps the baton," Ridge said.  "My role would be to participate in that effort to make sure the response agencywide, across governmentwide, is coordinated so that it is quick and aggressive and as complete as possible.  That's my job."  Asked if people would have to listen to him, Ridge replied, "They're certainly going to have to listen to me" (Federal News Service transcript, Oct. 18). 

The Shuttered Capitol

The House of Representatives on Wednesday recessed until next week over fears that the anthrax from Daschle’s office (see GSN, Oct. 18) might have entered the ventilation system.  The Senate decided to stay in session and is now working out of makeshift offices around the Capitol, according to the New York Times.  House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) said people who were in Daschle’s office could have had spores on their clothes and could have carried them into the Capitol.  “These spores as I understand it, can replicate themselves, live for 100 years, are hard to get rid of and the decontamination process is a long and arduous process,” Gephardt said.  Senate leaders wanted to follow the House’s actions but several senators blocked the action, according to the New York Times.   

Wednesday’s action is the first time since the British burned the Capitol in 1814 that Congress has been this disrupted (Katharine Seelye, New York Times, Oct. 19). “When placed into full historical perspective, the closure of the House points to a startling conclusion,” said U.S. Capitol Historical Society President Ronald Sarasin.  “Terrorists have succeeded in doing what invading forces, major international powers and even a bloody and protracted civil war have all failed to do.  They have disrupted the business of the legislative branch of the U.S. government” (Twomey/Dewar, Washington Post, Oct. 19).   

United Nations in Kenya Safe

Several letters that contained suspicious powders, including two sent to the U.N. Environment Program in Nairobi, were received throughout Kenya.  The letters sent to the U.N. office were cleared, according to officials.  "The overall sample is negative," said Health Minister Sam Ongeri.  Four other letters had tested negative as well, Ongeri said, and test results were awaited on two other letters.  Health officials said yesterday that another letter sent to a Nairobi businessman had tested positive for anthrax.  "These incidents show that the threat of terrorism is worldwide," said U.S. Ambassador Johnnie Carson.  "American assistance and support will be made available to help protect Kenyans from bioterrorism" (Reuters/New York Times, Oct. 19).

The WHO said public health systems worldwide needed to stay on alert for anthrax amidst the growing number of reports of occurrences in the United States and elsewhere.  "Local and national public health systems are gearing up to respond to outbreaks of infectious disease, whether deliberate or naturally occurring," said WHO Director General Gro Brundtland.  Brundtland said that the current situation has taught three lessons:  "First public health systems have responded promptly to the suspicion of deliberate infections, second, these systems must continue to be vigilant and third, an informed and responsible public is a critical part of the response." 

The WHO released today new guidelines on responses to suspected anthrax infections.  If anyone feels ill, they should go seek medical advice, said the WHO Executive Director for Communicable Diseases David Heymann.  "Unless they have been directly exposed to anthrax spores, they cannot have anthrax, and should not be concerned," Heymann said (U.N. News Service release, Oct. 18).

Finding the Source

One source of the anthrax mailings that has been ruled out by many experts is a domestic terrorist group because they lack the funding and expertise needed.  “It’s become pretty clear that it takes some sophistication to produce dangerous anthrax or weaponized anthrax, and we have no indication the people on the radical right have the ability to do it said Mark Potok, a researcher with the Southern Poverty Law Center.  There has been considerable talk among members of such groups about using bioterrorism agents, such as anthrax, Potok said, but there is no indication they followed through.  The possibility, however, cannot be completely discounted, according to Jay Kaiman, southeast director of the Anti-Defamation League.  “There’s always that slim possibility that there is one sick individual who has bought into conspiracy theories and anti-democratic ways of thinking who would resort to these types of threats.  We should never take anything for granted,” Kaiman said (Ron Martz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 19).

U.S. investigators said the cost and expertise needed to produce anthrax similar to the type being used shows a connection to state-sponsored terrorism.  “It would take years of specialist training to be able to cultivate such anthrax,” said Alistar Hay, a chemical and biological warfare specialist at Leeds University in Great Britain.  Hay said it was unlikely an individual could make “weapon-grade” anthrax because of the level of expertise required.  “With the information that is emerging you are looking at someone with expertise in chemical and biological training” (Ananova/London Guardian, Oct. 19).

One state being investigated as a source is Iraq.  “It looks to me like someone substantially more sophisticated that the folks sitting out in the middle of the hills in Afghanistan are involved in this in some way,” said former CIA Director James Woolsey.  “My first nominee would probably be Iraq,” Woolsey said.  Before the Gulf War, Iraq had 50 bombs and 10 Scud missiles deployed with Iraq and dispersed throughout the country, however, they were never used, according to the Glasgow Herald.  Iraq said it had destroyed most of its biological arsenal on its own and that U.N. inspectors later destroyed the rest.  Experts say production has resumed again since the U.N. inspectors left in 1998 and the Iraqi stockpile is likely to be back at its pre-war level (Ian Bruce, Glasgow Herald, Oct. 18). 

Members of the Iraqi opposition have offered to conduct a mission in Iraq to gather information on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s possible role, but so far the U.S. State Department is not ready to begin funding, said Sherif Ali bin Hussein of the Iraqi National Congress.  “We want to find out if Saddam is behind the anthrax attacks, what are his capabilities, whether he has weaponized and what kind of stockpiles he has.  We want to get the human intelligence out of there on a real-time basis,” said Sherif Ali.  The INC has said it has links between Saddam Hussein and suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaedea organization.  “Time is not on our side.  There’s talk of smallpox [in the Iraqi biological arsenal] so we really don’t have the luxury of waiting anymore,” Sherif Ali said.  “We need to know now what’s the real nature of this threat” (Reuters/CNN.com, Oct. 18).

Another possible source for the anthrax is Russia, according to experts.  “The obvious one is Russia, it’s a league ahead of Iraq,” said David Kelly, a senior advisor to the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq.  Unemployed Russian scientists who worked for the former Soviet Union’s biological warfare programs appear to be a likely source of the anthrax, according to the London Independent.  Parts of the program may still be in operation today, according to some experts.  No one knows the whereabouts of 50 Russian scientists who have knowledge on weapon-grade anthrax, said Ken Alibek, former head of the Soviet biological weapons program (Anne Penketh, London Independent, Oct. 18).

Break Bayer’s Patent?

Canada said yesterday that it would break Bayer’s patent on the antibiotic Cipro (see GSN, Oct. 17), used to treat anthrax, and order 1 million generic tablets from a Canadian company.  “These are extraordinary and unusual times, said Paige Kovach, a spokeswoman for Health Canada.  “Canadians expect and demand that their government will take all steps necessary to protect their health and safety.”  In the United States, where there has been pressure to do the same, the U.S. government refused to follow Canada.  “We don’t feel there’s a need to lift their patent at this time,” said Health and Human Services Department spokesman Anthony Jewell. 

“Bayer has been fully cooperating with the Canadian government to meet their requests,” said Bayer Vice-President Doug Grant.  “But we take patent infringement very seriously, and we are prepared to consider all options to defend our patents” (Boston Globe, Oct. 19).  Cipro was Bayer’s best-selling drug even before the anthrax occurrences, generating $1.6 billion in sales last year.  Bayer’s pharmaceutical division has been in trouble, according to the Washington Post, since the withdrawal of the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol, which was associated with the deaths of more than 50 people worldwide.  Baycol was Bayer’s third-bestselling drug and was expected to reach $890 million this year.  The increased sales of Cipro cannot make up for the loss of Baycol, according to Bayer. (David McHugh, Washington Post, Oct. 19).

Hoaxes

In a press conference yesterday afternoon, Attorney General Ashcroft announced the following investigations concerning anthrax hoaxes and threats.

Fred Porcelina in Connecticut faces up to five imprisonment for threatening the use of weapons of mass destruction.  Porcelina is charged with dialing 911 to threaten that courthouses, schools and railroad stations would be “dusted.”

Joseph Fairnaz in Connecticut faces up to five years in prison and fines for making false statements to authorities regarding a hoax that shut down the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for two days, which may cost Connecticut taxpayers about $1.5 million.

Terry Olson in Utah faces up to five years in prison for making false statements to the FBI about his knowledge of an anthrax hoax. 

William Silvia in Rhode Island faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for mailing a letter that claimed to contain anthrax (Federal News Service transcript, Oct. 18).

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