CBS News employee tests positive for anthrax

NEW YORK (AP) -- An employee in Dan Rather's office has tested positive for the skin form of anthrax, CBS News said Thursday.

It is the same form of anthrax that infected an aide to NBC's Tom Brokaw after she handled a letter that was addressed to him.

The CBS announcement was on the company's Web site.

"She is expected to make a full recovery; in fact, she feels fine," said Andrew Heyward, CBS News president. He said she was being treated with antibiotics.

CBS officials were talking with the mayor, the police commissioner and the health department to determine the next steps.

The announcement came a day after Gov. George Pataki moved his staff to a new location after his New York City office tested positive for anthrax bacteria.

Pataki said he is taking the antibiotic Cipro as a precaution, but does not plan to get tested for the disease that has infected two other people in New York City. Three more have tested positive for exposure.

"I don't think it's necessary," Pataki said Wednesday. "I feel great."

He said Thursday that he was following the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The CDC sent us a protocol and it outlined what steps everybody who has been in the office should take," the governor said on ABC's "Good Morning America."