Posted on 11/21/2001, 5:42:50 PM by CheneyChick
CC
May she be avenged in battle. May she rest in peace.
94-Year-Old Connecticut Woman Has Inhalation Anthrax
 |
 |
| AP | |
| Nov. 20, 2001: Authorities work outside Ottilie Lundgren's house in Oxford, Conn. | |
OXFORD, Conn. — An elderly woman was in critical condition Wednesday with inhalation anthrax, baffling authorities who saw no connection between her rural community and bioterror attacks in New York, Washington and Florida.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the anthrax case after similar results at the local hospital and state health laboratory, Gov. John G. Rowland said.
"We will begin to continue research as to where she has been over the last few weeks," Rowland said.
A niece said the woman, 94-year-old Ottilie Lundgren, had been staying close to home since she no longer drives. Postal authorities said a regional processing facility had tested negative for the presence of anthrax.
Lundgren was in critical condition Wednesday at Griffin Hospital in Derby, in southwestern Connecticut.
Rowland said there was no indication the woman is related to any government official or member of the media or had any public activity that would cause her to be a target of terrorism.
"There is no evidence [she] contracted the disease as a result of a criminal act," Rowland said.
The FBI and state police were investigating, Rowland said.
Recent cases of anthrax have centered on letters sent to high-profile people in major cities: television anchors, members of the media and members of Congress.
Four people have died — two Washington postal workers, a hospital employee in New York City and a newspaper photo editor in Florida.
Doctors at Griffin Hospital initially suspected pneumonia and tested four vials of Lundgren's blood Saturday. When those came back positive, the hospital conducted additional tests that showed the bacteria matched the properties of anthrax, said Dr. Stephanie Wain, who runs the hospital's lab.
Dr. Lydia Barakat said Lundgren already had been ill for two days when she was admitted to the hospital on Friday.
"Any elderly patient will have a hard time fighting any kind of infection, even the most common type of bacterial infection," Barakat said at a news conference. "And she's old, she has other [serious] illnesses, so she's definitely critical."
Barakat and Dr. Howard Quentzel, chief of the hospital's division of infectious diseases, had attended a statewide meeting about the disease and realized anthrax could appear anywhere, noting that a New York woman with no known connection to the media, the postal service or the government died of anthrax.
"Personally, we didn't want to be overreacting to the results, but as physicians, we also are supposed to give the best possible care to patients," Barakat said.
Lundgren lives by herself in a modest ranch-style home in Oxford, about 30 miles southwest of Hartford.
"It doesn't seem like something of this magnitude should happen in a town like this," said John Dunleavey, 23, who grew up in the neighborhood. "Normally you don't see this kind of action in town."
Lundgren's niece, Shirley Davis, told The Hartford Courant her aunt no longer drives. "She went to the hairdresser's and to [church] when she was up to it. I nearly fainted when the doctors told me they suspected anthrax."
U.S. Postal Service spokesman Jim Cari said mail to Oxford goes through a processing center in Wallingford. That center was recently tested for anthrax and showed no sign of contamination, Cari said.
Rowland said that health authorities would provide antibiotics as a precaution for employees at the Wallingford and at a post office in Seymour.
Oxford, a town of less than 10,000 residents about 70 miles from New York City, has one bank and no hotel, according to the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
"It is weird that a 94-year-old woman in Oxford would possibly have anthrax," Rowland said. "[But] there's no rhyme or reason to what's happened over the last eight weeks, either."
Lundgren is a retired legal secretary. Her husband, Carl, a city judge, died in 1977.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ottillie and her family.
I want a piece of this monster and I want it bad. It isn't bad enough he's murdered Otillie Lundgren and the other adults, or infected an infant at ABC, he had to put MY New Jersey interstate child support check into limbo for nearly a month by poisoning the Trenton mail facility which processes child support, disability and unemployment checks. My check was one of 8,000 lost.
A fitting punishment would be to put this screaming orifice mad scientist in an auditorium with me, the families of the anthrax victims, and the other 7,999 single parents, disabled and jobless people who didn't get their money from the State of New Jersey. We'd take good care of him...Sopranos-style!
May God give Otillie Lundgren eternal rest and help her family find peace after her senseless passing.
Sorry to hear she didn't make it. Like another poster noted, she lived a long life only to die like this. What a shame. But then no more of a shame than the WTC or Pentagon victims.
Yes, indeed. She looks like a sweetie. Wow, I hope I'm able to live on my own at 94.
Why do they bother with this pap? While technically (a la ClintonSpeak) it is correct, it's a meaningless statement.
Remember the first case, from Florida? The guy was an "outdoorsman" who may have been out "drinking water from a stream." Uh... this housebound woman hasn't been drinking from a stream, lately.
Socialists in Congress? Click on the zeppelin, Grasshopper.
This is quite bizarre...a quiet elderly woman, who went nowhere except church and the hairdresser. How could she have contracted anthrax?
Which brings me back to the USPS. Is this stuff coming in through our mailboxes due to cross-contamination?
I have been throwing out all catalogues that come from the DC and NYC postal offices. But what about the National Geographic mag that came from DC today? Should I wear a mask while reading it? Should I cancel my subscription?
(Just a few thoughts to add to the general hysteria and paranoia).
...The news comes a week after a Derby man was arrested on charges that he sent letters threatening anthrax exposure to several state and federal offices. [Derby is about 10 miles from Oxford, where Mrs. Lundgren lived.]Amir Omerovic, 27, is charged with sending letters to the governor's office, the Judicial Review Council and U.S. Coast Guard offices in Hartford, and to a U.S. Marine Corps office in Danbury.
The FBI said at the time that there was no evidence Omerovic had access to anthrax. The letters did not contain any white powders or other suspicious substance.
Rowland said law enforcement officials were investigating to determine if there is any link to that case...
RIP Ma'am.
Lord take her soul and give her comfort and peace.
If, on the other hand, it is a continuation of the Muslim Mass Murder... Let's Roll!
Another possibility that has crossed my mind is that one of the terrorists who crashed into WTC could have been infected. When he was vaporized,(along with 3000 others) that cloud passed over the Bronx and up to Connecticut. ??? Some scientist, please straighten me out, because this is too scary to contemplate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.