The fear of exposure to the anthrax bacteria has heightened within the past 24 hours, with reports of two new cases of the infection contracted within media outlets around the country.
ABC studios confirmed yesterday that an infant who had visited the set of World News Tonight in late September had tested positive to cutaneous (skin based) anthrax. Although ABC is unsure as to whether or not the child contracted the illness while visiting the set, the network is still taking the necessary precautions and has tested employees working at the station. So far no one has tested positive, and the infant is expected to make a full recovery.
This is the third incident to affect media organizations in the United States, the first of which affected American Inc., a business located in Boca Raton, Florida. One individual there died from inhalation of the bacteria, while another is being treated for exposure.
Another letter that tested positive for anthrax was sent to Tom Brokaw at NBC. His assistant, who is now currently being treated for exposure to the bacteria, opened the envelope.
In an interview with Face the Nation on Sunday, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft speculated on why this could be directed at the media.
“If I were a terrorist, I would want to engender fear that was irrational, and I would want to curtail the availability of information in a free press that was good information,” he said.
Jessica Johnson, the president of University of Massachusetts television station UVC, explained that targeting the media is an efficient way of spreading the message.
“The media is the fastest way to get the public’s attention,” she said.
Max Shea, a community member and employee at student radio station WMUA, made similar remarks.
“It is obvious that the media is what is used to send out messages,” Shea said. “Sending letters to media outlets is a quick way to get the message out.”
Shea went on to explain that the country as of yet was not sure whether or not the cases of anthrax were incidents of terrorism or simply hoaxes. Because of this and because the campus media is far removed from the public eye, Shea explained that he was less concerned about the possibility of receiving a letter with the bacteria in it.
“We get a lot of mail in all different kinds of packages,” Shea said. “When I am opening up a package with a press release or a CD, [anthrax] crosses my mind. But it does not affect the way that I deal with the mail.”
The incidents stopped being strictly media-based yesterday when a letter that was sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s office in Washington. The capitol police tested the envelope and preliminary reports showed that it turned up positive for anthrax. All mail delivery to the Capitol has been temporarily suspended while the incident is being dealt with and public tours have also been put on hold.
President George W. Bush, explained in a televised appearance that although there was not any conclusive evidence that the government had not ruled out the possibility that Osama bin Laden was behind the anthrax scares.
“There may be some possible link. We have no hard data yet. But it’s clear that Mr. bin Laden is a man who is an evil man. He and his spokesmen are openly bragging about how they hope to inflict more pain on our country. So we’re watching every piece of evidence,” Bush said.
According to information provided by the Center for Disease Control, anthrax is a disease that is caused by spore-forming bacteria contracted from infected animals or from infected tissue. It can be spread three ways: through the blood stream when spores enter through an open cut, in airborne form or by eating the undercooked meat of an animal that is infected. Symptoms for cutaneous (skin) anthrax include raised black bumps on the body where the virus came in contact with the skin, and flu like symptoms in the case of airborne anthrax.
The illness can be treated effectively with anti-biotics.
