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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 22, 2001

94-Year-Old Woman Dies of Inhalation Anthrax in U.S.

A 94-year-old woman Ottilie Lundgren, who lived alone and seldom left her rural home, died of the inhaled form of anthrax Wednesday in a baffling new twist in the bioterrorism investigation. She died five days after she was hospitalized with respiratory problems.


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A 94-year-old woman Ottilie Lundgren, who lived alone and seldom left her rural home, died of the inhaled form of anthrax Wednesday in a baffling new twist in the bioterrorism investigation. She died five days after she was hospitalized with respiratory problems.

She is the fifth person to die of anthrax since early October, and the first case of the disease outside of New York, New Jersey, Florida or Washington. Her death and that of a New York hospital worker are the only ones that have not been linked to tainted mail.

Authorities said there was no immediate evidence of a crime in Lundgren's death, but the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began tracing her steps over the past month and are looking at the mail as a potential source.

No anthrax-tainted letters have been reported in the southwestern Connecticut area, and tests at a regional mail-sorting center just last week came up clean.

The nation's last anthrax death was Oct. 31, when a hospital worker died in New York City, 70 miles away from Lundgren's modest ranch home in rural Oxford. Lundgren had no known links to any of the previous victims.

With this second unexplained anthrax case, CDC Director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan acknowledged he could not discount the possibility that naturally occurring anthrax is more common than doctors thought and is only now being discovered.

But he called that unlikely, particularly in an Eastern state where animal anthrax has not been detected.

Evidence from Lundgren's home, including mail, will be tested for anthrax. Results are not expected until later this week.

State Trooper Roger Beaupre said investigators are looking into whether Lundgren came in contact with someone who had mailed anthrax to news organizations and political leaders.

So far, investigators have found no clues to possible anthrax exposure �� such as using imported wool �� in Lundgren's hobbies or daily routine.

Her niece, Shirley Davis, said her aunt seldom left home except for church and a weekly visit to the beauty parlor.

The CDC is testing the anthrax in Lundgren's blood to see if it is from the same strain that was mailed to political leaders and news organizations.






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