2nd N.J. mail worker may have inhalation anthrax

TRENTON, New Jersey (CNN) -- New Jersey Health Commissioner George T. DiFerdinando Jr. said Thursday a second employee of the Hamilton Township mail processing center near Trenton may have inhalation anthrax.

EXTRA INFORMATION Anthrax through the ages

The commissioner said he would extend the recommendation of antibiotic treatment to a 60-day course for Hamilton Township and West Trenton post office employees.

Another worker from the Hamilton Township facility remains in serious but stable condition with "suspected" inhalation anthrax at a hospital in Mount Holly, 15 miles south of Trenton.

"The patient in Mount Holly is currently classified as suspected because she has clinical symptoms which are compatible, she has exposure which is compatible, but she has only one type of positive laboratory test, which is considered to be supportive and not a confirmed laboratory test," said Dr. Beth Bell of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No details were available about the condition of the second worker with possible inhalation anthrax.

"The new case is not a suspected case. The new case has a clinical picture which is not inconsistent with inhalational anthrax," Bell said. "We have no laboratory data at the moment to support such a diagnosis."

Two other postal workers in New Jersey have been diagnosed with cutaneous, or skin, anthrax.