NEW YORK, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A New York Post employee who works at 1211 Sixth Ave. in Manhattan which is also the headquarters for Fox News, has contracted skin anthrax, but is "already regarded as cured," the newspaper's owners said Friday.
"We are taking every precaution and working closely with authorities to identify the source of the infection and prevent any further risk," said Ken Chandler, publisher of the New York Post. "The authorities have assured us there is no danger to our employees."
Chandler said that the newspaper's executives had been working with city, state and federal officials since the anthrax was first discovered at NBC last Friday.
The employee, who has not been identified, first noticed a blister on one of her fingers on September 22. She scratched the blister and it became infected, according to Chandler.
She visited a medical clinic, where she was treated with antibiotics. Several days later, the employee removed the bandage on the finger and noticed a black sore. She then visited a hospital and was treated with more antibiotics, after which she returned to work, Chandler said.
"The employee is being treated and is doing well," New York City health officials said in a memo distributed to employees of the newspaper. The memo said it is "likely the employee may have been infected while opening the mail."
The 32-year-old employee, a female member of the support staff to Editorial Page Editor Bob McManus, has already returned to work and is expected to make a swift and complete recovery.
The woman had a lesion or scratch on her finger and directly handled a suspicious package some weeks ago, health officials said. She had been tested with 10 other News Corporation employees considered at high risk Monday night after the discovery of an NBC employee testing positive for anthrax, however, the first test came back negative because she was on antibiotics, according to health officials.
New York Post officials were informed Thursday night by the New York Police Department that the employee had tested positive for cutaneous anthrax following a second test.
The source of the infection is unknown. Members of the Centers for Disease Control and officers of the New York Police Department are currently conducting additional tests in the New York Post offices. The results of those tests are not yet known.
As a precaution, three other members of the Post staff who displayed flu-like symptoms were tested for anthrax infection in the past week. All tests have been returned negative.
New and increased security measures and procedures for handling the mail have been instituted at the Post in the past week in accordance with the advice of federal and local law enforcement and health authorities.
Fox News and the New York Post are both owned by News Corp., a worldwide media organization headed by Rupert Murdoch.
(Reporting by Alex Cukan in Albany, N.Y.)
