Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Four More New Jersey Postal Facilities Test Positive for Anthrax

Aired November 10, 2001 - 11:22   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Anthrax has been found at four more postal facilities in New Jersey, but health officials emphasize the danger of infection is low.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us now from Trenton, New Jersey.

Hi, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Kyra.

The Health Department ran an environment check of all of the postal facilities that are served by the facility in Hamilton. You may remember that is the place where we saw the original case of anthrax in New Jersey.

Forty-nine facilities are served by the Hamilton facility. Health workers took 196 samples from these four facilities. They checked out the public areas. They checked out the mail sorting machines. They checked out the ventilation areas.

They found that four of the facilities tested positive for anthrax. They found minimal, or trace, amounts of anthrax at those facilities; one in Trenton, one in Princeton, one in Rocky Hill and one in Jackson, New Jersey.

Now, they theorize that cross-contamination from the Hamilton facility may be the root of the problem here, so overnight they dispatched two teams to clean these four facilities. The cleanup was described by one health official as minimal.

Health officials say despite everything that has happened at these four facilities, they are safe for the public and for the employees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDY BRESNITZ, NEW JERSEY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: These findings represent from -- in our opinion, that these workers at these facilities are at very low risk for developing either inhalation or cutaneous anthrax.

We have not recommended antibiotic prophylaxis, or preventative antibiotics, for any of these workers, although several hundred of them elected to start an antibiotic prophylaxis at the time that the facilities were sampled.

We are recommending that no one continue these antibiotics, and certainly no one at these facilities where there were positive samples begin antibiotics at this point because of the very low risk of anthrax.

It is also our feeling, based on the low risk, that there's no need to close these facilities at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: There are about 90 employees who work at the four facilities. Again, they were cleaned overnight. They are open for business today, but the Hamilton facility remains closed -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jason Carroll live from Trenton, New Jersey, thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com