FBI Intensifies Inquiry Into Anthrax Cases --- Criminal Investigators Increase Role in Probe

Federal and state health investigators, who have been collecting samples from Mr. [Bob Stevens]'s office in Boca Raton, Florida, and home in Lantana, Florida, have said there is no evidence so far that the case involved bioterrorism. But the fact that some of the suspected terrorists of the Sep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal Asia
Main Author By staff reporters Chad Terhune in West Palm Beach, Florida, Laurie McGinley in Washington, and Evan Perez in Miami, Florida
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Victoria, Hong Kong Dow Jones & Company Inc 10.10.2001
Subjects
Anthrax
Antibiotics
Attorneys general
Bacteria
Criminal investigations
Employees
Evidence
Keyboards
Medical laboratories
Questionnaires
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Summary:Federal and state health investigators, who have been collecting samples from Mr. [Bob Stevens]'s office in Boca Raton, Florida, and home in Lantana, Florida, have said there is no evidence so far that the case involved bioterrorism. But the fact that some of the suspected terrorists of the Sept. 11 hijackings spent time in the area has raised fears that they might have been responsible. Hijacker Mohamed Atta rented a small plane on at least three occasions in mid-August at the Lantana airport, which is about 1.6 kilometers from Mr. Stevens's home. Moreover, some anthrax experts say it is highly suspicious that two people in the same office building were exposed to the bacterium. Florida health officials said the bacterium that causes anthrax has also been found on a swab taken from the office computer keyboard of Mr. Stevens, the 63-year-old photo editor who died this past Friday. Dr. Jean Malecki, director of the Palm Beach health department, said Monday that spores from Mr. Stevens, his computer keyboard and from Mr. Blanco all came from the same strain of bacterium, but that it still hadn't been determined whether the bacterium was "natural," occurring in the wild, or "unnatural," which would indicate bioengineering by humans. Health officials are conducting further genetic testing on the anthrax strain found to determine what type it is. Florida officials are clearly backing away from their comments last week that this anthrax strain appeared to be naturally occurring because it responded to penicillin, which is consistent with the natural form. Raising further suspicions is the fact that not only is anthrax rare but, according to Dr. Malecki, "there has never been a reported case of anthrax exposure inside a building."
ISSN:0377-9920