New anthrax case reported in NBC employee in New York

Associated Press WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- An NBC News employee in New York has tested positive for anthrax in tests done after the company received suspicious mail, the network said Friday.

The anthrax was not the inhaled form of the disease, which killed a Florida man a week ago, NBC News said. The female employee instead has a cutaneous -- skin -- anthrax infection and is responding well to treatment, the network said.

Barry Mawn, head of the FBI office in New York, said authorities "see no connection whatsoever" to the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. "It's a separate criminal matter," he said.

NBC President Andrew Lack said the woman works on "Nightly News." She was not identified.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said tests would be done at NBC offices in Rockefeller Center. Some areas will be closed, he said.

"People should not overreact to this," Giuliani said. "Much of this is being done to allay people's fears."

The network said it had received some suspicious mail and immediately contacted the FBI, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York Department of Health.

"The mail was tested by these organizations, and the employee was treated by several physicians. All these tests came back negative," NBC said in Friday's statement. "However, this morning, a later test on the employee came back positive for traces of cutaneous anthrax."

The disclosure comes a week after a photo editor for The Sun supermarket tabloid in Boca Raton, Fla., died of the more serious inhaled form of anthrax. The American Media Inc. building where several supermarket tabloids are published was sealed off after anthrax was found on the keyboard of the editor, Bob Stevens, 63.

Traces of anthrax were later found in the mailroom where two other American Media workers, Ernesto Blanco and Stephanie Dailey, both worked, a law enforcement official said Thursday. Both tested positive for exposure to anthrax, but neither developed the disease. Both are taking antibiotics and Dailey has even returned to work.

Anthrax bacteria live in the blood of animals. When an animal dies, the bacteria form spores, which are released.

Skin anthrax and inhaled anthrax are caused by the same germ. The difference depends on how it gets into the body, whether through the lungs or through a break in the skin.

About 95 percent of all cases of anthrax worldwide result from skin contact with infected animals or tissue, and ranchers and animal handlers are sometimes at risk.

The infection can be cured with a variety of antibiotics, including penicillin and Cipro. But when left untreated, about 20 percent of patients die.

Cutaneous anthrax often begins with a bump on the hands, arms or head that eventually turns into a sore. More severe symptoms may follow, including fever, swelling and headache.

Inhalation anthrax is far more serious.

The only vaccine to prevent anthrax is in limited supply and is now only available to the military.