Mail machine in House has traces of anthrax

The anthrax was detected in the mailroom of the Ford House Office Building.

By Kate Snow and Jonathan Karl
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Authorities detected traces of anthrax in a mail-bundling machine in a U.S. House of Representatives office building, congressional leaders said Saturday.

The anthrax-tainted machine was located in the Ford House Office Building and sorted mail for the Longworth House Office Building, where many representatives, including Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Missouri, have offices.

In a joint statement, Gephardt and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, stressed that "all other bundling machines" tested negative for anthrax, as did a child-care facility in the building. The congressional leaders said it is not known whether any of the infected mail was delivered or to whom it was intended.

The development came five days after a letter containing anthrax was opened in the offices of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota. Until now, anthrax had been found in two sites on Capitol Hill -- Daschle's office in the Hart building and a Senate mailroom in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

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Evidence of anthrax has also been detected on the Capitol's central mail facility, an off-site facility through which all Congressional mail passes.

"This was not an unexpected situation," said Lt. Dan Nichols, a spokesman for the U.S. Capitol Police. "We don't know if there's another (anthrax-tainted) letter."

The House has been out of session since Wednesday night. Health investigators began sweeping the Capitol complex Wednesday and continued to do so through the weekend -- wiping down surfaces, vacuuming and testing the air for any trace of anthrax, said Roger Gibbs of the Department of Defense.

Nichols said the samples were taken from the Ford building on Wednesday, and tests came back on Saturday morning.

Workers in the mailroom will take nasal swabs to determine if they have been exposed to anthrax, Capitol physician Dr. John Eisold said, but others -- including individual representatives -- are not being tested.

The Senate anthrax scare prompted tests of more than 4,000 people in and around the Senate this week, with results indicating that 28 people, mostly in Daschle's office, had been exposed to anthrax.

None of the people tested has shown anthrax symptoms, Eisold said.

Environmental tests continue on Capitol Hill buildings, Nichols said, adding that every lawmaker's office will be tested.

Eight people, including one man who died, have tested positive for anthrax infection since October 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty-two others have tested positive for exposure to the bacteria.