Connecticut woman dies of inhalation anthrax

SUMMARY:

A 94-year-old woman who lived alone in Oxford, Connecticut, died Wednesday of inhalation anthrax, hospital officials said.

Ottilie Lundgren was the first confirmed case of anthrax in Connecticut and the second one of inhalation anthrax in a person with no apparent link to media outlets, postal facilities or government buildings where anthrax has been found. (Full story)

The other case involved Kathy Nguyen, a 61-year-old New York woman who died of the disease in October. Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant, lived in the Bronx and worked at a Manhattan hospital.

• Summary   • Case history   • Key questions   • Bottom line

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CASE HISTORY:

• 18 confirmed anthrax infections

• 11 inhalation cases, including five deaths

• Seven skin cases

Inhalation anthrax deaths:

Connecticut -- Ottilie Lundgren, a 94-year-old woman in Oxford.

Florida -- Robert Stevens, photo editor at American Media Inc. in Boca Raton.

Washington -- Joseph Curseen Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr. Both were postal workers at the Brentwood processing center.

New York -- Kathy Nguyen, hospital supply room worker.

Other inhalation anthrax victims:

Washington -- Two Brentwood postal workers.

Washington area -- State Department mailroom employee.

Florida -- Ernesto Blanco, who worked in the same building as Stevens. He was released from the hospital October 24.

New Jersey -- Two Hamilton Township postal workers.

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 and an unidentified person.

New Jersey -- West Trenton postal worker, Hamilton Township mail processing employee and 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

BOTTOM LINE:

Although health officials feared that inhalation anthrax would nearly always be fatal, doctors have saved several anthrax victims.