More Anthrax cases have been found in Florida. Interestingly, it seems to have infected the offices of the Tabloid Newspapers! No kidding!
Here's the latest from CNN:
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Health officials made a public plea Monday for employees of a local tabloid publishing company to be tested for exposure to anthrax after two samples taken over the weekend showed the presence of the bacterium.
The American Media Inc. building remained sealed Monday after a sample from the building and from another employee showed the presence of the bacterium that causes anthrax.
About 300 people work for American Media, publisher of The National Enquirer and other tabloid papers, said Dr. John Agwunobi, the state health secretary. He urged all employees and those who may have spent more than an hour in the building since August 1 to report for testing.
Robert Stevens, a photographer for one of the newspapers, died Friday of inhalation anthrax, which causes severe respiratory problems. He checked into the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, Tuesday.
RESOURCES
Get more information on anthrax from the CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is heading the investigation into how Stevens contracted the disease.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, Agwunobi said, officials discovered a second individual was exposed to Bacillis anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax. He said the man had anthrax spores in his nasal cavities, but that the man had not shown any clinical symptoms.
At least one sample from within the building has also tested positive for the bacterium, Agwunobi said. An emergency management spokeswoman said the samples being taken from inside the building include air samples.
The FBI, which also is investigating the source of the anthrax, said there is "no evidence" either the anthrax case or the finding of a sample in a different employee is linked to terrorism.
"Every step is being taken to quickly identify the bacteria's source and determine how individuals were infected," an FBI statement said.
Agwunobi urged employees and visitors to the building to be tested at the Del Ray Beach Health Center, where they could also receive educational materials about anthrax. They could also receive preventative antibiotics, which significantly decrease the risk of contracting the disease if taken before symptoms develop.
People who were briefly in the building -- dropping off or picking up packages, for instance -- need not be tested, Agwunobi said.
Health officials stressed the disease is not contagious from one person to another.
Stevens fell ill after a recent trip to North Carolina but a Florida state epidemiologist said he did not believe Stevens contracted the disease during his trip because the incubation period for anthrax is between six and 45 days, a period which would not have included his trip.
Anthrax -- considered to be a potential agent for use in biological warfare -- is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis and most commonly occurs in cattle, sheep, goats, and other herbivores. Humans can become infected when they are exposed to infected animals or tissue from infected animals.
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The great ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they were built for.
