World News Anthrax threat grows; U.S. Capitol closed for biological inspections

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Growing germ warfare fears forced an unprecedented closing of much of the U.S. Congress Oct. 18. In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives, the office buildings that support it and similar buildings for the U.S. Senate were closed for biological inspections. The closing of the Capitol occurred after the number of Anthrax exposure cases growing out of an anthrax-laced letter sent to one Senate office rose to 31.

The letter was similar to one sent to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw in New York. A third letter was sent to a tabloid newspaper in Florida, where anthrax spores killed a photo editor. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said preliminary genetic tests show the strains of anthrax in New York and Florida were the same.

The Senate said it would continue working in its half of the two-century-old domed Capitol while the buildings were swept for possible contamination. But the massive closing of the rest of the complex for environmental reasons was unprecedented.

The anthrax scare has not been linked to those responsible for the Sept. 11 suicide airline hijacking attacks in New York and Washington that left nearly 5,400 dead. However, officials said there could be a connection.

The spreading anthrax scare has unnerved Americans and triggered fears of biological warfare, hoaxes and false alarms around the globe.

The U.S. is worried about shortages of the anti-anthrax antibiotic Cipro.

米国で炭そ菌事件が拡大

米国の炭そ菌感染事件はさらなる拡大を見せ、18日には、米連邦議員のスタッフら31名が感染したことから、検査のため議会の一部が閉鎖されるという異常な事態になった。

Shukan ST: Oct. 26, 2001

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