US firm in Pakistan gets anthrax letter
Muhammad Najeeb in Islamabad
Two anthrax attack cases involving multinational companies, including an American firm, have occurred in Pakistan, but officials are trying to keep them under wraps for reasons unknown, reports said.
A report in The News and the Jang dailies said last week senior executives at two business organisations in Karachi -- an international bank and a computer-marketing firm -- received international mail that carried anthrax spores with some powdery material.
A number of staff members at both the organisations are now being treated for anthrax.
A senior staff member at the main laboratory of the Aga Khan University and Hospital in Karachi said tests have revealed that one of the two mails was loaded with anthrax, while the other had traces of the bacterium.
Medical experts say since the first cases of anthrax have already been confirmed in Pakistan, authorities must immediately launch a public awareness exercise as almost all forms of anthrax, if caught early, can be cured.
Indo-Asian News Service
Any indication from the FBI about the motivation of the U.S. domestic terrorist mailing anthrax in Pakistan