Anthrax probe makes no progress

Associated Press

OXFORD, Conn. — Deepening the mystery surrounding the nation’s latest anthrax death, preliminary tests Friday found no trace of the bacteria in the 94-year-old victim’s home, on her mail or at her post office.

"Testing was focused on the so-called mail trail," Gov. John Rowland said. "I can’t speak for the federal authorities, but it’s frustrating for all of us."

Authorities were awaiting more definitive results, and testing of Ottilie Lundgren’s home was not complete.

Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have meanwhile turned to the few places frequented by Lundgren, a widow who seldom left home except to go to the library, the beauty parlor, the doctor, church and a diner, where she sometimes stopped after her Saturday morning hair appointments.

Three government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators were seeking a soil sample from the diner, Fritz’s Snack Bar, after residents mentioned vague recollections of an anthrax outbreak among livestock at a nearby farm more than 50 years ago.

Officials said the sample was precautionary and they had not yet found records of such an outbreak or the farm. Anthrax spores can live for decades in soil.

Lundgren died of the inhaled form of anthrax Wednesday, becoming the fifth fatality since the nation’s anthrax scare began in early October. The CDC said the strain that killed her was similar to strains found in other recent cases, but authorities have so far been baffled by its source.

Only 18 cases of natural inhalation anthrax have been recorded in the past 100 years, so the Connecticut case is "most likely the result of a criminal act," Swenarski said.

CDC spokeswoman Lisa Swenarski said the agency should know sometime this weekend if anthrax found in a letter sent from Switzerland to Chile is from the same strain as the anthrax found in letters in Washington, D.C., and New York. The letter was received last week by a pediatrician at a children’s hospital in Santiago, the Chilean Health Ministry said.

"If it is the same strain that we found in these other incidents, we’ll know that we are probably dealing with another attack," Swenarski said.