Anthrax victim urges Americans to 'stand together'

SUMMARY:

In a respite for a nation shaken by bioterrorist attacks, a New Jersey postal worker who contracted inhalation anthrax was released from the hospital Monday and an infected State Department mail handler was moved out of intensive care.

"Even though we have been confronted by a deadly disease, there is recovery, there is hope," said postal worker Norma Wallace at a news conference in New Jersey. "We don't have to succumb to it. We can fight together. We can stand together."

Meanwhile, A public post office branch within the Pentagon complex remained closed Monday after traces of anthrax were found over the weekend, and authorities reported no progress in finding out who is responsible for mailing out anthrax-laced letters that have infected 17 people, four of whom have died.

Investigators are focusing on a few mail routes in the West Trenton, New Jersey, area where three anthrax-laced letters may have been mailed from, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said.

Meanwhile, the Mayo Clinic announced Monday it has developed a new DNA test in conjunction with a pharmaceutical company that could rapidly detect anthrax in humans and in the environment. The vaccine has been tested only in the laboratory and not on an infected person.

CASE HISTORY:

VIDEO

A New York woman with no known connections to recent anthrax incidents dies of the disease. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports (October 31)

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		• Summary • Case history • Key questions • Bottom line



IN-DEPTH

VIDEO/AUDIO

•	Investigators baffled by 94-year-old woman's death


MORE STORIES

•	Gephardt: Anthrax cleanup 'tougher than expected'

•	Official: CIA uses anthrax, but no link to letters

EXTRA INFORMATION

•	Anthrax symptoms


•	Tracking the bacteria

RESOURCES
•	Advice on suspicious packages

•	Message board

Infections -- 17

Inhalation cases:

Florida -- Robert Stevens, photo editor at American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, died of inhalation anthrax.

Washington -- Two postal workers -- Joseph Curseen Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr. -- died of inhalation anthrax. Both worked at the Brentwood processing center.

New York -- Kathy Nguyen, hospital supply room worker, died of inhalation anthrax.

Washington -- Two other Brentwood workers, inhalation anthrax.

Washington area -- State Department mailroom employee, inhalation anthrax.

Florida -- Ernesto Blanco, who worked in same building as Robert Stevens, diagnosed with inhalation anthrax; released from hospital on October 24.

New Jersey -- Two Hamilton Township postal workers, inhalation anthrax.

Cutaneous (skin) cases:

New York-- Female assistant to NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw; infant son of ABC News producer; female assistant to CBS News anchor Dan Rather; unidentified person.

New Jersey -- West Trenton postal worker; Hamilton Township mail processing employee; Hamilton Township bookkeeper.

KEY QUESTIONS:

What happens when officials believe there is an anthrax contamination threat? Click here for more

Why do some experts fear the new anthrax test could return a false negative? Click here for more

Why did officials reject one method of decontaminating a Senate office building? Click here for more

BOTTOM LINE:

Although health officials feared that inhalation anthrax would nearly always be fatal, doctors have saved several anthrax victims. Meanwhile, federal agencies are still checking various facilities for the presence of the bacteria, and officials are hustling to make sure antibiotics are available to those who may have been exposed to anthrax.