Third person with anthrax tests postive in Florida

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- A third person who worked at a Florida company has tested positive for anthrax and the case has become the subject of a federal criminal investigation, authorities said Wednesday.

The 35-year-old woman, whose name wasn't disclosed, was hospitalized after a swab of her nasal passages found traces of anthrax. She is being treated with antibiotics and her condition was not immediately known.

FBI agent Hector Pesquera said the anthrax contamination is limited to the Boca Raton headquarters of supermarket tabloid publisher American Media. Anthrax killed a tabloid employee last week and found its way into the nose of mailroom co-worker.

U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis said the investigation would focus on how the anthrax got into the building -- and why.

No terrorist link yet

Health officials have repeatedly said there is no public health threat from the Florida anthrax case, but suspicious packages prompted people to seek medical tests in Wisconsin and Texas. Officials also closed buildings in several states.

Pesquera said authorities had no evidence the anthrax was created by a terrorist group and cautioned that "this is not a time for premature conclusions and inaccurate reporting."

Sun tabloid photo editor Robert Stevens, 63, died Friday of inhaled anthrax, a rare and particularly lethal form of the disease. Co-worker Ernesto Blanco, 73, has been in a Miami hospital since Monday after anthrax spores were found in his nose. He was in good condition.

Health investigators shut down the American Media building after finding traces of anthrax on the computer keyboard used by Stevens. Pesquera said the latest victim worked in the general area of the other victims.

"This is so devastating to me and my company," American Media chief executive David Pecker said on CNN's "Larry King Live." There has been speculation that the company's official-sounding name gave it a high profile, and Pecker said he thought his company was being targeted.

Florida health officials have said the bacteria in Stevens' blood responded to antibiotics, suggesting it was a naturally occurring strain rather than a laboratory-altered one.

A law enforcement official said on condition of anonymity that preliminary work on the anthrax that killed Stevens has found a possible match to a laboratory strain first isolated in Iowa. However, further tests are being done.

Authorities said the latest victim was one of more than 1,000 people who have been tested by health officials for the presence of anthrax. Most have recently been inside the AMI building and most are still waiting for test results. Many were given supplies of antibiotics and told to come back for more tests later.

Reassuring blood tests

Debbie Bottcher, a proofreader for The National Enquirer, had a blood test Wednesday and will take another one in two weeks.

"It was painless -- and reassuring," she said.

Bayer AG, Germany's biggest drug maker, said it will boost production of the anthrax antibiotic Cipro to meet surging U.S. demand. One of the leading U.S. distributors of the antibiotic, McKesson HBOC, said it has not encountered any shortages, though pharmacies are reporting low supplies.

The concern even spread to newsstands. American Media executives said they had received phone calls from supermarket chains and tabloid readers who were afraid they might come into contact with the bacteria while leafing through the paper.

AMI chief executive David Pecker cited the CDC in saying there is no danger to the public from handling newspaper. The company's tabloids, including The Sun, are not printed in Florida