Tests show letter to Sen. Daschle did contain anthrax

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Sophisticated tests confirmed Tuesday that a letter mailed to the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle did contain anthrax, a spokesman for the senator said. Officials closed 12 senators' offices in the building where the letter was opened as a precaution.

Simple field tests conducted on Monday had given a preliminary indication that the letter contained the potentially deadly bacteria. Additional testing at an Army medical research facility at Fort Detrick, Md., said anthrax was indeed present, said Jay Carson, spokesman for Daschle, D-S.D.

About 50 Daschle aides, police officers and other Senate workers who may have been exposed to the letter opened Monday in one of Daschle's offices were being tested and given the antibiotic Cipro as a precaution, officials said.

Two preliminary field tests of the Daschle letter were positive for the bacteria, officials said after the document was found to contain a powdery substance. But officials said initial examinations often were mistaken because they might simply reveal the presence of a less dangerous germ.

Public tours of the Capitol have also been suspended indefinitely, though officials say that move was planned before Daschle's office received the tainted letter. Visitors with passes from their home-state lawmakers' offices will still have access to the House and Senate visitors' galleries.