Anthrax, a case of bio-terrorism?

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 9. Without pushing the panic button, law enforcement authorities in the U.S. are seriously looking at bio- terrorism after two cases of anthrax - one fatal - surfaced in Florida.

On Tuesday morning, a third case may have surfaced close to Washington in Virginia, although health authorities are saying that the person is being investigated for a number of things for spores, including anthrax.

Federal and local authorities have sealed a building in Florida and are trying to determine how the two men there were exposed to the anthrax bacteria. The building has been sealed for two months. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is saying that the case could turn into a criminal case if it warranted.

``We take this very seriously. We don't have enough information to know whether this could be related to terrorism or not,'' the Attorney-General, Mr. John Ashcroft, said at a press conference.

Of particular interest to authorities in Florida is the sealed building, headquarters of American Media Inc., which houses publications, including The Sun and The National Enquirer. The building is an area which had been frequented by many of the terrorists who have now been implicated for the attacks on New York and Washington.

Investigators are pointing to the fact that hijackers had been asking questions about crop dusting and were interested in small planes used for the purpose. This area is not too far from the American Media building. Further, one of the persons who has died of anthrax lived about one mile from where Mohammad Atta, the likely local mastermind of the terror attacks, rented planes.

What is of concern to the authorities is that anthrax could be delivered in crop dusting planes; and it has been used in germ warfare. In the past, people who have contracted the disease were for the most part agricultural workers who come into contact with infected animals. Medical experts are saying that in such cases the reaction takes the form of skin eruptions which can be cured if detected on time.

AP reports:

Mr. Bob Stevens, photo editor at The Sun, died after apparently inhaling anthrax, and an employee in the same building, Mr. Ernesto Blanco, had the bacteria in his nostrils. The bacteria was found on a computer keyboard in their office. A State health official had his own doubts. ``The chances are one in a billion'' that two such cases would occur, said Dr. Landis Crockett, Director of Disease Control for the Florida Department of Health.

In Virginia, lab tests performed on a patient had thus far been negative, Dr. Thomas Ryan of Price William Hospital said. ``I just want to allay everybody's anxiety about this case because it just doesn't seem to fit the criteria,'' he said.

On Monday, the hospital had contacted the health department with a possible anthrax diagnosis, ``one of several possible diagnoses'' for the victim. Mr. Bennet Bolton, senior reporter for The National Enquirer, described a ``cryptic'' e-mail sent to the staff in late August or early September by a person who had worked in the newsroom during the summer. ``It intrigued us that he left such a cryptic farewell,'' Mr. Bolton said. Federal investigators have been informed about the e-mail.

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