Anthrax scare closes US post offices
An anthrax scare at a mail centre in the United States has led to the closure of eleven postal offices.
Five of the 1,500 postal workers at the offices in the Washington area have been prescribed antibiotics, though none appear to have been exposed to anthrax.
The closures came following a discovery at a Navy site that handles mail for federal agencies and the White House.
The Navy closed the automated mail handling operation at its naval air station in Washington on Thursday to run additional tests after sensors detected traces of a substance that could be anthrax, a Homeland Security department spokesperson said.
Lieutenant Corey Schultz explained: “Almost all the mail that’s processed there is irradiated, so it’s likely the substance would be inactive.”
She also noted that it was “very unlikely” that the few people who work in the facility were at risk of exposure, but said that they were being evaluated as a precautionary measure.
At least five people died and 17 were taken seriously ill in anthrax attacks, which spanned the East Coast of America two years ago.
Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media offices in New York and Florida and to the Washington offices of two senators.
Since the anthrax attacks, the Postal Service has spent millions of dollars to test and install equipment to sterilise mail.
