As the US federal authorities continue the investigation into the source of an outbreak of anthrax in Florida, "unique characteristics" of the microbe that killed a man suggested it may have been artificially produced, media said.
According to federal sources the characteristics of the anthrax spores inhaled by 63-year-old Mr Robert Stevens, a photo editor at the Suntabloid in Boca Raton, Florida who died on Friday, suggested it may have been produced at a laboratory in Iowa, The Miami Heraldand CNN reported today.
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FBI agents remove samples from the Florida office
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But the sources urged caution pending confirmation. "That's where we are headed, but the tests are no conclusive," a federal source said. "We want to be sure."
A second man, Mr Ernesto Blanco (73), who was admitted to hospital after testing positive for anthrax was showing considerable signs of improvement today, his daughter-in-law told media.
Mr Blanco, a mailroom employee in the same building as Stevens, was also an employee for American Media Inc (AMI) which owns a series of supermarket tabloids including the National Enquirer.
Meanwhile, test results on a third man who is currently under observation at Prince William Hospital in Virginia on concerns he may also have contracted anthrax, were not available early today.
Doctors said yesterday they considered anthrax "an unlikely diagnosis" for the 40year-old man's flu-like symptoms. The man apparently worked in a building belonging to American Media but it was not clear whether he had been in Florida, where the anthrax outbreak occurred.
Some 300 employees at the American Media building were given antibiotics treatment after traces of the disease were also found on Stevens' keyboard.
However, Florida Health Department chief Dr John Agwunobi told NBC television yesterday the cases were from a single building and no indication of a wider risk for the population at large existed.
Mr Landis Crockett of the Florida Health Department said it was highly unlikely to find two case of anthrax, which can occur naturally, in one location.
AFP
