Posted on 10/10/2001 7:13:23 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
TALLAHASSEE -- Federal investigators now believe the strain of anthrax bacterium that killed Robert Stevens and got stuck in the nasal passage of an American Media co-worker was genetically modified, The Palm Beach Post has learned.
That doesn't necessarily mean the strain is more lethal, because officials say it is sensitive to penicillin. What remains unclear is how the strain was modified. Although it could have been altered in a terrorist's bioweapons factory, it also could have been retooled in an academic or commercial laboratory for research or be a natural mutation never seen before. The strain's name hasn't been made public.
The FBI, which has opened a criminal investigation, continued Tuesday to comb the sealed-off Boca Raton headquarters of American Media, where Stevens worked as a photo assistant for The Sun, one of the company's tabloid publications. Stevens died Friday of inhalational anthrax, the first case in the United States since 1978.
Investigators found no evidence of the germ Bacillus anthracis in Stevens' home, garden, fishing spots, bicycle routes, social circle or two area grocery stores where he shopped, officials said. His wife and children have stopped taking antibiotics, are using his car and are back in the family home.
"What we have found at this point in the investigation . . . is that it is pointing in the direction of something other than just a natural exposure," said Barbara Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The data is piling up for something else," she said, emphasizing that the agency is looking at every possibility. She said she had no other details.
The only places where spores have been found were on Stevens' office keyboard and in the nasal passage of a co-worker, Ernesto Blanco, who worked in the building's mail room. CDC's Reynolds confirmed it is the first known case in the United States in which a person has been exposed to anthrax in an office building. Most past exposures have been in laboratories or in factories containing contaminated wool or animal hides. Anthrax cannot be passed from one person to another.
The strain of bacterium found in Stevens' body matches the strain found on his keyboard and in Blanco's nose, Dr. Jean Malecki, director of the Palm Beach County Health Department, said at a press conference Tuesday.
More than 770 employees, family members and construction contractors who stood in line on Monday and Tuesday to have their noses swabbed and to receive antibiotics will have to return to the county's health clinic for blood tests, officials said. The blood drawing could take a week.
A state lab in Miami and a CDC lab in Atlanta each will test their blood to see whether they have elevated antibody levels -- a sign they might have been exposed to the anthrax bacterium or other germs. Dual testing provides more confidence in the results.
CDC's Reynolds said its labs are working 24 hours a day screening the samples. Results could be ready within days.
Malecki said Tuesday that the anthrax strain found in Stevens had been identified. When asked what it was, she replied, "I'm not at liberty to say."
State health officials last week said the strain appeared to be naturally occurring, but have backed away from that statement this week.
Meanwhile, a contractor whose job may have brought him to the Boca Raton building was hospitalized in Virginia after complaining of flu-like symptoms. But Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore said Tuesday that preliminary tests are all negative for anthrax.
And Blanco, whose condition has improved at Cedars Medical Center in Miami, did not show anthrax's classic symptoms, even though he was exposed, officials said.
Tri-Rail told its riders that it was possible someone who had anthrax had been on the train -- Blanco rode it to work from his North Miami home -- and to call the county health officials if they needed information. The health department was fielding worried calls all day.
Antibiotic in demand
Pharmacies in Palm Beach County reported increases in sales of antibiotics Tuesday as news of the anthrax scare spread. Ciprofloxacin, an oral antibiotic that health officials are using most to safeguard against anthrax, was in greatest demand.
"Whether we have it in stock or not depends on when and where you go," said Carol Hively, a Walgreen spokeswoman. "It seems to be radiating from Boca Raton."
The rush to buy Cipro wasn't noted in areas outside of Palm Beach County, she said.
The local shortage is compounded because physicians are prescribing up to 120 tablets for patients when the normal request for a urinary tract infection, for instance, is about 20, Hively said.
That troubles the Florida Medical Association, which has formed a task force to educate doctors about how to diagnose and treat conditions caused by biochemical weapons.
"We are concerned that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics for such purpose might cause adverse effects and can contribute to the emergence of resistant strains of common infectious diseases," said Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, chairman of the task force.
Officials told AMI employees they might have to take antibiotics for up to 60 days.
Experts weren't sure what to make of investigators finding spores in the building. "I think it's a bio-crime, not bio-terrorism," said Martin Hugh-Jones, a Louisiana State University epidemiologist who heads a World Health Organization anthrax task force. "It's like somebody went in with a pistol and shot up the office."
Finding out who got access to the anthrax could be politically explosive. "I study it all the time and we have trouble getting cultures," Hugh-Jones said. "For Joe Blow it would be very tricky."
Bioterrorism experts have long worried about nations such as Iraq using anthrax germs on American civilians. U.S. intelligence knew Saddam Hussein had anthrax weapons in 1995.
And Mohamed Atta, who lived in South Florida and is believed to have crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center, met with an Iraqi intelligence official. He also looked at crop-dusters in Belle Glade days before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Suspicious powders reported
The case has sparked fear across parts of Florida. Emergency officials responded to calls around the state about suspicious powders being mailed or delivered to homes and businesses. Firefighters in suburban Fort Lauderdale were quarantined for 12 hours, and officials closed a bank and law firm in Naples. Dozens of people were sent to hospitals for tests, but there were no reports of anyone becoming sick.
"I could probably drop a package of Sweet'N Low and evacuate this building," Collier County Emergency Management Director Ken Pineau said.
In Austin, Texas, authorities quarantined a computer repair business that recently received a Dell Computer Corp. keyboard from AMI's Boca Raton office. Ken Mock, vice president of Service Electronics, said the keyboard was packaged inside a plastic bag and two sealed boxes, and was not opened.
Neither Stevens nor Blanco had used the keyboard, he said.
FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said there was no proof that a letter mailed to AMI several weeks ago was the source of the bacteria. The love letter to singer Jennifer Lopez reportedly contained a powdery substance.
Outside the sealed-off AMI headquarters, Boca Raton Fire-Rescue workers who handle hazardous materials scrubbed down the hooded white jumpsuits of health investigators and FBI agents Tuesday as they exited.
The agents then took off the suits, two layers of gloves, black oxygen masks and two sets of boots. Each set of gear was packed into a clear plastic bag. Investigators brought out green buckets and emptied them into a large yellow trash can marked "salvage."
Lt. Frank Montilli said fire-rescue expected to continue aiding the FBI at least until noon today. Delray Beach police officers helped guard the periphery, which was cordoned off by police tape.
Boca Raton Councilman Dave Freudenberg said he feared the building would become uninhabitable indefinitely -- if not from anthrax contamination, then from the stigma.
He said city officials should help American Media find another office in Boca Raton if the company has to move. The company apparently has settled on temporary space in Delray Beach.
In Tallahassee, Gov. Jeb Bush again acknowledged concerns about the anthrax problem and a terrorist backlash.
"I know our people are scared. There is an apprehension," Bush said. "Times like this require leaders with a strong, yet reasoned, sense of duty and responsibility."
At a luncheon meeting of House Democrats, Florida Secretary of Health Dr. John Agwunobi tried to reassure a handful of worried legislators that health officials were doing all they could.
"How do you know if it's running around this building or any building?" Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, demanded.
"At this point in time, we don't know," Agwunobi said. "We need to prepare the population for what may happen in the future."
Employees want to know
AMI employees struggled through another day of trying to deal with the loss of a friend and co-worker, fears for their own health, the unfounded rumors and the uncertainty of when they could return to their workplace -- if ever.
"Everyone's scrambling for information," said Patricia Towle, a reporter for AMI's National Enquirer. "We're all becoming experts on anthrax, which is one of the last things we'd ever have expected to become experts on.
"We're used to covering the story. We're not used to being the story."
Another Enquirer staffer, who didn't want his name used, said he was amazed there wasn't more panic.
"We must be the bravest paper in the world," he said. "You have to realize that yesterday people were told they'd been exposed to a deadly illness and had to get tested for it.
"They went home, took their antibiotics and put the paper out. It was just unbelievable."
Kathleen Cottay, chief photo librarian at the Star, had the day off because AMI's major papers went to press Monday night. She was trying to reconstruct her electronic photo library and put together some basic research materials. But all her files are in the building, and she doesn't expect to be allowed back for months, at least.
"Today's a sinking-in day," Cottay said. "We're trying to let it sink in and think about it, just trying to relax for a day. I know people have been frustrated with a lot of the misinformation in the media, just all the stuff flying in, but we understand what happens when you're on deadline."
Research staffers have already gone out and bought reference books and laptops, Cottay said. The Star staff plans to meet at a Delray Beach office today to regroup and try to get answers to some of their questions.
"It's frustrating that health officials don't know anything either, but what a lot of people are realizing is that this is a disease nobody really understands," Cottay said. "We're setting a precedent here. You can't go back and look at a case from two years ago (because) it's never happened before."
They'll also come together tonight at a service honoring Stevens.
"People are anticipating the memorial service for Bob," Cottay said. "That's a big focus. It's very important that we show support for his family, as someone we loved."
Staff Writers Antigone Barton, Noah Bierman, Dani Davies, Kim Folstad, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Mary McLachlin and John Murawski, and Palm Beach Post wire services contributed to this story.
sanjay_bhatt@pbpost.com
meghan_meyer@pbpost.com
mary_mclachlin@pbpost.com
How spores are tested
To determine whether the spores found at American Media were engineered or formed naturally, scientists must:
1. Send the samples to a federal lab.
2. Dissect the spores according to criteria such as molecular weight, chemical properties and genetic makeup.
3. Compare these findings to a library of anthrax strains.
Tri-Rail told its riders that it was possible someone who had anthrax had been on the train -- Blanco rode it to work from his North Miami home -- and to call the county health officials if they needed information. The health department was fielding worried calls all day.
This is too bad. One of the great little secrets of South Florida is the Tri-Rail service. On weekends, for a mere $4.00 per day, you can you have unlimited travel for anywhere between Miami and West Palm Beach plus free connections. And the service is really comfortable with very few passengers.
"We are concerned that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics for such purpose might cause adverse effects and can contribute to the emergence of resistant strains of common infectious diseases," said Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, chairman of the task force.
This is especially a problem with tuberculosis. The current medicine requires daily intake for six months, and many do not follow the prescribed routine to the end. So now we have super strains of TB roaming around.
I'm having a real problem with the press constantly trying spin these stories.
Regardless of his intentions or affiliations, if someone attempts to infect an office full of people with a deadly bacteria its safe to call it 'terrorism'.
In December, a Web site reported that a scarcity of PlayStation 2 consoles was partly due to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's use of the game machines. Some 4,000 of the game consoles found their way to Iraq, said the report.
While critics of the report doubted the practicality of linking hundreds of game consoles together to further a government's military ambitions, Michael Goodman, a senior analyst at Boston, Massachusetts-based Yankee Group, said the issue must be viewed a different way.
Chips Are Key
"Don't think of consoles, think of chips," Goodman told NewsFactor Network. "The danger is you are teaching [China] how to build" the processor, Goodman said.
Sony's 128-bit, 300 MHz "Emotion Engine" is equal to a mid-range Intel microprocessor, Goodman told NewsFactor. However, Goodman said it wasn't clear why Japan and the U.S. consider the PlayStation 2's DVD capability a threat. The PlayStation 2 does employ RSA (Nasdaq: RSAS) encryption.
Last December, with reports of Hussein possibly using the game consoles for military purposes, an unnamed military source was quoted as saying that the PlayStation 2's graphic capabilities were more powerful than those of a graphics workstation and far exceeded that found in typical PCs.
The PlayStation 2 also comes equipped with a broadband Internet connection, industry sources report.
See http://stos-www.cit.cornell.edu/Arvy/research/ga.html for a description of genetic algorithms. It seems that they would use a similar capability as polygon generation, and these are used in simulating and modeling biological & genetic processes, i.e., what one would need for mutating and developing new strains for biological weapons.
Saddam has had the time, the motivation, the equipment, and has at last, found his opportunity.
, but thankfully lacks the mental capacity to do anything with the playstations except grunt, get frustrated, and pound sand.
, but thankfully lacks the mental capacity to do anything with the playstations except grunt, get frustrated, and pound sand.
And all this time I thought that Saddam just wanted to play video games.
Once someone has the anthrax, there is no guarantee they are smart enough or bold enough to use it to do the most damage. This may have only been a test to see how much damage could be done.
Well, if it WAS part of an attack, there may be other cases out there no one knows about yet, or it could have been a "test" to see if it works.
The purpose of terrorists - scare people. The effect of the 9/11 attacks was not just to kill people, but to frighten people into changing their habits. Flying, feeling secure in public places and crowds, etc.
In other words, you don't need to kill hundreds or thousands if you can kill 2 in 20 places. It makes 20 times as many people scared. Lets face it, if you live in Podunkia, Nebraska, you're not going to be too worried about airliners smashing into the local Piggly Wiggly. On the other hand, if two people come down with Anthrax at the Piggly Wiggly in Podunkia and also in twenty other small towns and cities across the USA then the effect is probably BETTER than hitting a huge building.
This is a sad piece of journalism. That this incident occurred in the headquarters of a major news company shows that it is not only an act of terrorism but a carefully targeted act of terrorism...done to maximize panic.
And, although people have been hit by lightning for the past several thousand years, you don't see people running away from trees in thunderstorms, do you? In fact, you don't see people fretting about it at all.
But the randomness of the ANTHRAX attacks seems to be part and parcel of their strategy. Get the most people worried.
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