Anthrax found again; FBI probes death

Associated Press

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The FBI took over the investigation of a Florida man’s anthrax death on Monday after the germ was found in the nose of a co-worker and on a computer keyboard in their office.

Health experts say the Florida anthrax incidents do not fit the classic bioterrorism scenario and the public should not especially fear for its safety while the FBI continues its investigation.

"We regard this as an investigation that could become a clear criminal investigation," Attorney General John Ashcroft said during a news conference in Washington, D.C. "We don’t have enough information to know whether this could be related to terrorism or not."

The FBI sealed off the Boca Raton office building housing the supermarket tabloid The Sun, where the men worked. How the bacterial spores got into the newspaper’s office was still under investigation.

More than 200 people lined up for antibiotics and anthrax tests by late afternoon.

Anthrax cannot be spread from person to person, but all 300 employees in the building — and anyone who spent more than an hour inside since Aug. 1 — were advised to visit Palm Beach County’s health agency. Antibiotics can be used to treat anthrax, though the form that caused last week’s death is particularly lethal.

Health officials said there was no public health threat, even to building employees. "The risk is low," said Dr. John Agwunobi, Florida secretary of health.

Bob Stevens, 63, a photo editor for The Sun, died Friday of inhalation anthrax, an extremely rare and deadly form of the disease. The last such death in the United States was in 1976.

On Monday, officials said another Sun employee, whose name was not released, had anthrax bacteria in his nasal passages. The co-worker was in stable condition at an unidentified Miami-Dade County hospital, according to health officials. He had been tested for anthrax because he happened to be in a hospital for an unrelated and undisclosed illness.

The man has not been diagnosed with the disease, and CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said authorities may never know whether he actually had anthrax because antibiotics may have killed it before it was detected.

David Pecker, chief executive of the tabloids’ publisher, American Media Inc., said the man worked in the mailroom. The sample of anthrax that was found in the building was taken from Stevens’ computer keyboard, Agwunobi said.

Newsweek magazine reported on its Web site Monday that the office received a "weird love letter to Jennifer Lopez” a week before the Sept. 11 attacks. Inside was what was described as a "soapy, powdery substance” and a Star of David charm. The letter was handled by both Stevens and the other employee, according to unidentified workers cited by Newsweek.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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