Preliminary positive tests for anthrax in a letter mailed from the United States to Chile (see GSN, Nov. 27) might be the result of laboratory contamination, health officials said yesterday.  Meanwhile, investigators finalized plans on the best way to open the anthrax-tainted letter sent to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) as the investigation into the recent U.S. anthrax incidents continued.

The Chilean scientists who tested the suspicious letter received by a Santiago physician grew only a few colonies of anthrax bacteria from the material collected from the letter, said Mitchell Cohen, director of the Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“If you were dealing with large concentrations of organisms, you would expect to get your [culture] plate covered with microorganisms,” Cohen said.  The light growth found in the Chilean tests, however, “is more consistent with contamination from a laboratory source” (Mark Schoofs, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 29). 

The Chilean lab contained anthrax on its premises, which may have contaminated the sample before it was sent to a CDC-affiliated Miami laboratory that later confirmed the anthrax, according to the Associated Press.

The anthrax found in the Chilean letter does not match the strains found in the U.S. anthrax cases, the CDC said yesterday.  “This strain does not match the strain associated with the contaminated mail in the United States and therefore does not appear to be linked to the situation in the United States,” said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner (Laura Meckler, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Nov. 29).

To date, the CDC has not confirmed any anthrax incidents outside the United States.  There have been false positives in several countries, including Kenya (see GSN, Oct. 26) and Pakistan (see GSN, Nov. 13).

Robo-Detective to Investigate

Investigators will use a small robot to open the anthrax-tainted letter mailed to Sen. Leahy (see GSN, Nov. 27), a law enforcement official said yesterday.  The robot will be used as part of plan designed to minimize the loss of anthrax spores and DNA evidence from the envelope, officials said.  Testing on the letter could begin today, according to USA Today.

The robot is expected to help create a controlled environment for opening the letter, which is highly toxic, authorities said.  The letter holds enough anthrax to kill more than 100,000 people, Leahy said Sunday (Kevin Johnson, USA Today, Nov. 29). 

Whoever is responsible for the anthrax incidents could have easily produced the tainted letters using relatively simple laboratories and self-protection measures, microbiologists said last week.

Project Bacchus, a 1999 Defense Department study, showed that a domestic team with biological training could produce two pounds of mock-aerosolized anthrax for about $1.6 million.  The team was able to gather, in one year, fermenters, grinders and other laboratory equipment needed to produce anthrax.

Terrorists could produce anthrax or other biological warfare agents in their basement or garage if they were unconcerned about infecting themselves or people around them, according to experts.  Public health officials would be unaware until those near the secret lab started to become ill, said Lee Thompson of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. 

“There is no doubt, if you were vaccinated or didn’t care about your life, you could acquire and produce a spore product if you had the correct shopping list and recipe,” said Craig Smith of the Infectious Disease Society of America.  “Remember around the world, many of these dual-use items are totally unregulated” (Dan Vergano, USA Today, Nov. 29).

Capitol Police Bolstered

The House of Representatives yesterday passed an anti-terrorism bill that includes measures to enhance the Capitol Police, the Washington Post reported today. 

“Our uncertain times have presented enormous, unforeseen challenges for the police,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.).  “Now more than ever we need to provide them with all the needed tools and resources to maximize their potential as an elite law enforcement agency.”

The new measures include hiring up to 151 new officers, a new secure command center and a new training academy close to Washington.  The House approved emergency anti-terrorism funding that would add more than $100 million to the Capitol Police budget, according to House aides.  The police could also deploy up to 72 agents in a new chemical and biological response unit, according to the Post.

“The job of the Capitol Police has changed radically since Sept. 11,” said a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). “These measures will help them face a whole array of new challenges in protecting the Capitol and the people who work and visit here.” (Spencer Hsu, Washington Post, Nov. 29).

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