Wider anthrax testing urged in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Health officials made a public plea Monday for employees of a tabloid publishing company to be tested for exposure to anthrax after two samples taken over the weekend showed the presence of the potentially fatal bacterium.

The building housing American Media Inc., publisher of the National Enquirer and other tabloid newspapers, remained sealed Monday after a sample from the building and from another employee showed the presence of the bacterium that causes anthrax.

About 300 people work for American Media, located in Palm Beach County, said Dr. John Agwunobi, the state health secretary. He urged all employees and those who may have spent more than an hour in the building since August 1 to report for testing.

Robert Stevens, a photographer for one of the newspapers, died Friday of inhalation anthrax, which causes severe respiratory problems. He checked into the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, Tuesday.

RESOURCES Get more information on anthrax  from the CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, is heading the investigation into how Stevens contracted the disease.

That investigation led officials to a second individual who was exposed to Bacillis anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax. The man had anthrax spores in his nasal cavities, but had not shown any clinical symptoms, officials said.

At least one sample from within the building has also tested positive for the bacterium, Agwunobi said. An emergency management spokeswoman said the samples being taken from inside the building include air samples.

Terrorism not suspected

The FBI, which also is investigating, said there is "no evidence" either the anthrax case or the finding of a sample in a different employee is linked to terrorism.

"Every step is being taken to quickly identify the bacteria's source and determine how individuals were infected," an FBI statement said.

Agwunobi urged employees and visitors to the building to be tested at the Del Ray Beach Health Center, where they could also receive educational materials about anthrax. They could also receive antibiotics, which significantly decrease the risk of contracting the disease if taken before symptoms develop, he said.

People who were briefly in the building -- dropping off or picking up packages, for instance -- do not need to be tested, Agwunobi said.

Stevens fell ill after a recent trip to North Carolina but a Florida state epidemiologist said he did not believe Stevens contracted the disease during his trip because the incubation period for anthrax is between six and 45 days, a period which would not have included his trip.

Anthrax, considered to be a potential agent for use in biological warfare, most commonly occurs in cattle, sheep, goats, and other herbivores. Humans can become infected when they are exposed to infected animals or tissue from infected animals. The disease is not contagious from one person to another.