NEW YORK, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Three more people have been exposed to the potentially deadly anthrax bacteria, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Sunday -- in addition to one person who contracted the disease and another suspected of being infected at NBC headquarters in the city.
None were infected, the mayor said, but they were being treated as a precaution and were expected to be OK. Investigators were awaiting test results from 600 NBC workers. So far 200 results have been returned, all negative.
With anthrax now confirmed at sites in Florida, Nevada and New York City, Sunday's reports bring to 12 the total number of people known to have been in contact with the disease, in a series of incidents tentatively linked by U.S. officials to terrorism.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Sunday, that "from the prevention side ... as a policy, we should consider this potential, that it is linked."
"We don't have conclusive evidence at this time, and we don't have evidence that could rule out the possibility," Ashcroft told NBC's "Meet the Press."
"It's premature for us at this time to decide whether or not there's a direct link," he concluded.
Giuliani sought to diffuse fears of a new terror campaign in New York, this one involving biological weapons.
"We, obviously, have had over the last 24 hours a number of different situations in which people are concerned about anthrax, or similar kinds of diseases," Giuliani said. "The good news that emerges from it is that none of them have proven to be anything else but negative."
"The only case is still the same one from Friday, the one at NBC," Giuliani said. "The one at the (New York) Times appears also to have been negative."
A police officer was exposed making inquiries Friday when the Sept. 18 envelope that tested positive for anthrax was found at the broadcaster's headquarters in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Two laboratory technicians at the city's Department of Health were also exposed, said Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik who was with the mayor briefing reporters.
"When they were tested, miniscule spores or a spore was found in two cases in their nose and one case on their face," Giuliani said. "This does not mean that they have anthrax."
"The other detective and the FBI agent ... have also been tested and in their case nothing was found, and the other lab technicians have all been tested and in their case nothing has been found," Giuliani said.
Health Commissioner Neil Cohen said as many as 8,000 spores might have to reach the lungs before an anthrax infection could set in. Other experts have cited 10,000 spores as the rule of thumb.
Guliani said anyone receiving a suspicious letter or parcel should leave it alone, leave the room if possible, call 911, law enforcement or health authorities, don't move it and don't show it around.
With anthrax confirmed at sites in Florida, Nevada and New York City Sunday's reports bring the total number of people known to have been in contact with anthrax to 12, including its first fatality, a 63-year-old photo editor in Florida.
The death Oct. 5 has prompted hundreds of people to undergo testing while many pharmacies reported increased demand for antibiotics, apparently being taken as a precaution even far from the three states where anthrax has been detected.
In Florida, five more people in Boca Raton were found to have been exposed, Michael Kahane, general counsel for American Media Inc., said late Saturday afternoon. That brought to eight the number in that state testing positive. It was not immediately known if all five were employees of the tabloid publisher because the tests have been administered to visitors and postal workers.
Giuliani said the contaminated letter to NBC was sent Sept. 18 from Trenton, N.J. to NBC "Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw and handled by his personal assistant. It was described as threatening and contained a granular substance. The anthrax tests on it were positive. The letter was received between Sept. 19 and 25.
The second NBC victim had a low-grade fever, swollen lymph glands and a rash, but the tests on her have not yet been returned. Officials said antibiotics would protect her from the disease.
The 38-year-old assistant to Brokaw had been receiving antibiotics since Oct. 1 and her chest lesion was confirmed Friday as anthrax.
The woman contracted the least dangerous form -- skin. The Florida victim was killed by an infection of the lungs caused by inhaling anthrax spores.
Other letters originally suspected to contain anthrax mailed from St. Petersburg, Fla., to the New York Times, NBC and the St. Petersburg Times have been tested and, so far, have been negative for anthrax.
An envelope containing a powder showed up Tuesday on columnist Howard Troxler's desk at the St. Petersburg Times. The desk was wrapped in plastic and reporters continued working. The white powder tested negative for anthrax.
American Media, the first site where a letter containing anthrax was discovered, publishes the National Enquirer, the Sun, the Spanish-language Mira and other tabloids. Bob Stevens, 63, had been a photo editor for the Sun and early tests showed two other employees had been exposed.
Authorities were waiting for test results for fewer than 100 other American Media employees plus 15 Postal Service employees.
The third test on a letter mailed from Malaysia to a Microsoft office in Reno, Nev., was positive for anthrax, Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn said Saturday. Preliminary tests, which looked at slightly different factors, had been negative.
The letter contained a check made out to a vendor in Malaysia. The letter was returned to the Microsoft office but the check and envelope appeared oddly dampened and obscene materials had been put into the envelope. The unusual situation prompted the Reno employees to call authorities.
Anthrax was found on one of the obscene pictures, said Guinn, who added the material was being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more tests to determine whether the anthrax is a virulent and potentially deadly strain, or one used to manufacture anthrax vaccine and therefore harmless.
Other reports from California and Colorado now appear to be false alarms.
