Mounting fear as new anthrax case breaks previous pattern
October 31, 2001
The 61-year-old is the second person without a connection to the media, the government or a post office, to be infected with anthrax.
Prior to the announcement of the infection, an accountant in New Jersey was reported to be suffering from skin anthrax. The woman lived near the post office that handled the mail sent to Senator Tom Daschle's office.
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge expressed concern, as both cases are not linked to previous anthrax targets.
Investigators are interviewing more than 300 staff members of the Manhattan hospital to determine the source of infection.
The hospital worker is said to be in a critical condition. It is New York's first case of inhalation anthrax - the deadliest form of the disease.
The latest infections bring the number of people diagnosed with anthrax in the United States to 16.
The cases have only triggered further anxiety across the US, as citizens fear infection due to cross-contamination. Many Americans are afraid of opening their mail at home.
Postal Union leaders in Florida have now demanded the closure of 13 post offices, all discovered to have been infected with anthrax. The measure has been called for in order to protect postal workers from contracting the disease.
But if the closure is allowed, the mail system in the southern US states will be literally paralysed.
Postmaster General John Potter said on Tuesday, that the anthrax attacks could cost the US postal service several billion dollars.
Mailrooms in various government buildings including the State Department and the Supreme Court are being decontaminated due to anthrax.
Mailrooms in 240 US embassies worldwide are being investigated for the bacteria after a bag containg anthrax spores was discovered in the US embassy in Lima, Peru.
Officials still have no hard evidence as to the source of the anthrax attacks.
US still on the alert
The White House has defended its decision to put out a general alert on Monday on the possibility of new terror attacks, saying the public deserved to be warned. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said the government would offer more concrete information about the threat- if it had any.
With airports on a new state of alert and the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily restricting flights over U.S. nuclear power plants, many Americans are once more in the grip of anxiety.
President George Bush tried to ease their fears by visiting New York on Tuesday for the baseball World Series at Yankee Stadium and called on them to continue with their daily lives.
The United States warned that militants may be plotting new attacks on US targets at home and abroad on Monday.
These could occur within the next week, US Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a hastily called news conference on Monday afternoon in Washington.
According to intelligence sources, possible actions would be aimed against the US and its interests. Ashcroft disclosed no further details.