Suspect letters propagate anthrax scare in Switzerland
Fears about anthrax continued to spread in Switzerland as more suspect packages were found around the country on Wednesday.
In Basel, 19 packages containing an unidentified white powder were confirmed not to contain the bacteria, although tests are still being carried out on other letters.
A spokesman for canton Basel said eighty per cent of the letters had contained publicity material.
In Bern, police are investigating a letter sent to Kraft Foods, in which the writer threatened to attack the company with anthrax. The letter is also currently being tested.
White powder was discovered in a postal room in Chur, canton Graubünden, and a postal worker is undergoing medical checks.
The Basel-based pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Wednesday confirmed that a letter received by an employee last week contained no traces of anthrax .
Results are still not available for a letter sent to a person in canton Basel, which also contained anti-Semitic material.
According to the Federal Office of Health, none of the substances analysed until now have been found to contain spores of anthrax.
Switzerland’s postal service said on Wednesday it had put in place special security units to deal with suspect packages.
WHO warns against panic
On Tuesday, the Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) urged people to be vigilant but not to panic following the rash of anthrax scares
around the world.
Iain Simpson, a spokesman with the WHO, said doctors in Europe and in the United States were well prepared to spot any possible cases of anthrax.
“People are getting scared unnecessarily. The most important thing to remember is that it is not contagious,” said Simpson.
If caught early enough, the various kinds of anthrax can be treated with antibiotics. However, in the case of the most deadly inhaled form, the strain that killed a man in Florida, the early symptoms can be confused with a common cold.
Anthrax reaches Capitol Hill
United States congressional leaders ordered an unprecedented shutdown of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, after 29 of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s staff members tested positive for exposure to a highly concentrated form of anthrax.
A letter containing the substance was sent to Daschle’s office on Tuesday.
Anthrax spores have been also reportedly been found in mail machines inside the Senate and in parts of the building’s ventilation system, prompting Senate leaders into considering closing their chamber.
The Swiss government, meanwhile, has closed its consular office in New York.
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