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CNN Live At Daybreak
Anthrax Scare: Third Anthrax Case Spurs Criminal Investigation
Aired October 11, 2001 - 07:05 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A third person has tested positive for anthrax in Florida. She is a 35-year-old woman who works in the same building where two other cases were found, one of them fatal. That building houses a supermarket tabloid publisher.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Boca Raton, Florida, where this is now being called a criminal investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The FBI is taking over the search for the anthrax source that infiltrated the office building of American Media, the parent company for several tabloid magazines. After testing hundreds of people, investigators discovered a new anthrax case and pronounced this a criminal investigation.
DR. JOHN AGWUNOBI, FLORIDA SECRETARY OF HEALTH: So far of the 700 that we have reviewed, we have found one positive anthrax culture.
LAVANDERA: Anthrax spores were found in the nasal passages of a 35-year-old woman who has not been identified publicly. She is the third employee exposed in the Boca Raton building. One worker, Robert Stevens, died last week. The other two are being treated at Miami- area hospitals.
GUY LEWIS, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY: We understand that this is a problem and we will bring every resource that we have to bear on this problem and I assure you we will resolve it.
LAVANDERA: Preliminary tests indicate all the cases come from the same anthrax strain. Sources tell CNN the anthrax is believed to be the Ames strain. Researchers discovered it in Iowa during the 1950s. It's one of the most common anthrax strains and has been widely distributed among researchers for years.
For investigators, it's clear the anthrax was deliberately placed inside the building. The questions are who, how and why? But officials are quick to try to ease the most pressing fear.
LEWIS: I have no evidence at this point indicating that this is related to the September 11 events.
HECTOR PESQUERA, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: This is a time for sound scientific principles and methodical investigation. Our scientific experts tell us that there is no investigative conclusions that can be drawn at this time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on camera): There are still about 300 people and tests that need to be finalized of the people who worked at the American Media building or went into the building. And we're also told that it could take several weeks for investigators to match the strain of anthrax, and that's crucial because investigators have been telling us that the results of those lab tests will provide crucial evidence in this criminal investigation.
Now, at the press conference last night with the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and representatives from the Centers for Disease Control, they are assuring everyone in south Florida that they believe the anthrax is just limited to the American Media building behind me and that people should not be scared in any way and that the tests will continue and that they're doing everything they can to figure out exactly what the source of this anthrax is -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Ed, thanks so much.
The "Miami Herald" is reporting this morning that investigators have found that two of the suspected hijackers on September 11 had subscriptions to tabloids published by American Media Incorporated. The chief executive of AMI told Larry King last night that he does not believe the recent exposures to anthrax are a coincidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID PECKER, CEO, AMERICAN MEDIA: I think this is attack against America. The World Trade Center was attacked. The Pentagon was attacked. And American Media was attacked. And I think that this is the first bioterrorism attack in the United States. As you're aware, this is the first time there was an anthrax, a pulmonary anthrax case since, for the last 25 years. I mean, things like this, it's not a coincidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Well, the FBI is stressing that there are no indications the anthrax found at the publishing company was produced or caused by a terrorist group or anyone connected with the September 11 attacks.
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THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A third person has tested positive for anthrax in Florida. She is a 35-year-old woman who works in the same building where two other cases were found, one of them fatal. That building houses a supermarket tabloid publisher. >
