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CNN Live Saturday

Ottilie Lundgren Laid to Rest in Oxford, Connecticut

Aired November 24, 2001 - 17:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators are still stumped by the anthrax death of an elderly Connecticut woman. She was laid to rest today, leaving behind a baffling mystery that further complicates the anthrax scare.

CNN's Brian Palmer has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Family and friends gathered to say final farewells to Ottilie Lundgren in a small private service at her church, Emmanuel Lutheran of Oxford, Connecticut.

RICHARD MIESEL, PASTOR: She reveled in people's caring for her and enjoying with her. She was good friends with all kind of folks.

PALMER: The 94-year old widow is the fifth person to die of inhalation or respiratory anthrax since October. Most of the anthrax infections have been traced to tainted mail. Mrs. Lundgren's death, as well as that of a 61-year old New Yorker, Kathy Nguyen, does not fit that pattern. And investigators don't know how either woman became infected, but both deaths are being investigated as criminal acts.

Mrs. Lundgren spent much of her time at home. Investigators continue to interview people who may have come in contact with her in the past 60 days, and to collect samples from the few places she visited, the public library, town hall, and the new look hair salon where she had a standing appointment every Saturday.

Testing at local postal facilities yielded no trace of anthrax, but some postal workers have opted to take antibiotics, in case they were exposed. Local, state, and federal officials held a public meeting to explain what they've learned so far and what they don't know.

ERIC MAST, PHYSICIAN, CDC: We don't know what the infectious dose is precisely. We believe it takes a relatively large number of the spores to actually be inhaled into the body in order to become infected.

PALMER (on camera): What they do know is that the strain of anthrax that killed Ottilie Lundgren is indistinguishable from the strain found in all of the previous cases, a vital link that may help lead investigators to the people responsible for these attacks.

Brian Palmer, CNN, Oxford, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MANN: And the mystery is spreading. The first letter outside the U.S. to test positive for anthrax has turned up in Chile. The letter was sent from Switzerland to a Chilean doctor at Children's Hospital last week. It was postmarked Zurich, but had a return address in Florida.

The Chilean doctor and 12 other people are on antibiotics. So far, no one there has tested positive for anthrax. You may recall that letters containing white powdery substances have shown up in the Bahamas, Kenya, Pakistan, and Venezuela, but all of those ultimately tested negative for anthrax itself.

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