US terror of anthrax fans out worldwide

MIAMI - Fears of an anthrax assault on the United States have risen after top Government officials blamed bio-terrorists for sending the deadly bacteria by post.

Discoveries of unusual powder also sparked alerts in Britain, Vienna and Brazil.

More than 1000 Americans have been tested for anthrax by bio-hazard investigators in head-to-toe "spacesuits", and some people have stockpiled antibiotics.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson described anthrax-contaminated mail as bio-terrorism, but said it was too early to blame the al-Qaeda network of Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11 hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington.

The anthrax could have come from a domestic source, he said.

"There are a lot of people in America who are afraid, and understandably so because bio-terrorism has never hit America before," Mr Thompson said on Fox television.

Attorney-General John Ashcroft said some of the people responsible for the September 11 assaults were probably still in the United States planning other missions.

"We are on alert."

Britain's Canterbury Cathedral, spiritual home of Anglicans, was evacuated after a man was seen dropping white powder in one of its chapels.

Sunday services were cancelled and the powder was sent for analysis.

A ground cleaning crew at Rio de Janeiro's airport were placed in isolation after they found white powder inside a newspaper on a plane from Frankfurt.

And in Vienna, part of the international airport was evacuated after a small amount of white powder was found in a terminal building.

Mexico City officials said they were analysing at least 18 suspicious letters received by residents.

Health Minister Julio Frenk said at the weekend that the risk of anthrax appearing in Mexico was "very low" and he urged people not to panic.

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said three people who handled an anthrax-tainted letter sent to NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw had been found to have traces of the disease.

A Florida tabloid newspaper publisher said five more employees had been exposed.

But US officials emphasised that only two people have actually contracted anthrax. Tabloid photo editor Robert Stevens, 63, died on October 5.

With the discovery of a letter containing anthrax in Nevada, three states are now affected by the disease.

Four of six Microsoft employees who were exposed to the letter in Nevada had been given a clean bill of health, said a county health official.

The other two would be tested for "cutaneous anthrax" if the tests for inhalation anthrax were negative.

Cutaneous, or skin-based anthrax, is less serious.

The bacterial disease is spread by spores and usually confined to sheep, cattle, horses, goats and pigs.

Those tested in Florida and New York include tabloid workers and post office employees in Boca Raton and employees of NBC in New York.

Tabloid publisher American Media said the five employees who had tested positive were "all fine" and taking their medication.

Eight people have now been infected in Florida.

Pharmacies in the state and elsewhere report a dramatic rise in requests for ciprofloxacin, the antibiotic used to treat anthrax exposure.

- REUTERS

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