Canadian authorities are searching for traces of anthrax in samples from a ship held in quarantine off the coast of Nova Scotia, the Globe and Mail reported Saturday (see GSN, April 25).

Results are expected late today or tomorrow, according to Tracey Taweel, a Health Canada spokeswoman.

A team of six investigators, dressed in protective suits, spent five hours taking swabs from the living quarters on the Wadi al-Arab.  The team also interviewed the 30 members of the crew.

“It’s just what we expected.  Everyone is in extremely good health,” Taweel said.

The ship was quarantined and placed under 1000-meter exclusion zone after it was discovered that the death of the ship’s chief officer might have been caused by anthrax.

“We’re in a bit of a holding pattern at this point,” she said.  “We just have to wait until we hear back from the lab about the results,” she added (Globe and Mail, April 26).

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