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FBI Launches Criminal Investigation Into New York Anthrax Case
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Friday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched separate criminal investigation into the new anthrax case in New York, urging people to be alert for suspicious items.
"The source of the anthrax is being investigated and has not yet been determined," Ashcroft said at an joint press conference with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. "No conclusions have been reached at this time."
"The bureau is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control, the New York city health department and with postal workers," he said.
Ashcroft said the FBI was investigating a piece of mail from September 25 that may have transmitted the anthrax.
He said the government had no evidence linking the New York anthrax case with three other cases in southern Florida.
An employee of the U.S. news network NBC News has tested positive for anthrax after handling "suspicious mail" that was sent to NBC's New York headquarters, network officials said Friday.
The anthrax is not the same respiratory anthrax that killed a Florida man recently, it is contracted through contact with the skin, the network said.
At the news conference, Tommy Thompson stressed that anthrax is not contagious and it would not pass from one person to another.
But he asked people to be alert and report to law enforcement agencies if they find anything suspicious or immediately contact health department officials and doctors if they don't feel comfortable.
He assured that the government has enough antibiotics and there is no need to stockpile it.
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