Anthrax suspected in two postal deaths

Anthrax may be responsible for the deaths of two Washington-area postal workers who passed away recently, government officials announced Monday.

Thirteen postal employees at the Brentwood mail facility in Washington have symptoms that may be anthrax-related, according to Dr. Ivan Walks, chief health officer of the District of Columbia. The figure includes two male employees who have died of what officials suspect is anthrax, and two employees who have been diagnosed with the inhalation form of the illness, according to Walks. Both employees with confirmed cases of inhalation anthrax are being treated at Inova-Fairfax Hospital in Virginia.

While anthrax has not been established as the cause of death for the two dead workers, Walks termed the two deaths "highly suspicious." One employee died at Greater Southeast Hospital in Washington last night, while the other passed away this morning at Southern Maryland Hospital, according to Walks.

Last Monday, Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., received an anthrax-laced letter that passed through the Brentwood facility. The Postal Service began conducting anthrax tests on selected mail workers at the Brentwood facility last Thursday. Federal officials originally advised that anthrax screening at Brentwood was unnecessary because anthrax had not been found at the facility itself, postal spokeswoman Deborah Willhite said.

"We followed the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and other public health officials who advised us that until there was an evidence chain that indicated there was anthrax present in the facility, it was not necessary to test workers," said Willhite.