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CNN Live Sunday

Latest Case of Inhalation Anthrax: Postal Worker in Washington, D.C. Area.

Aired October 21, 2001 - 15:11   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The latest case of inhalation anthrax, as we mentioned, involves a postal worker in the Washington, D.C. area.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is covering that story. She joins us now with the latest -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, we are just now outside of Washington, D.C. at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, where this person was checked in and admitted to this hospital Friday evening. He's a postal worker at the Brentwood mail processing facility, which is north of Capitol Hill. It is the main facility, though, that handles mail that is bound for the U.S. Capitol.

Midweek, this person came down with flu-like symptoms, high fever, aches and pains, and was admitted to the hospital here Friday, and it was early this morning that the CDC received the test results. They have been following this case very carefully, and they have diagnosed him as positive with the first case of inhalation anthrax in the Washington, D.C. area.

Now, that is requiring some very severe precautions for that gentleman's co-workers at the Brentwood mail facility, and another facility that he traveled to, though it's an airmail processing facility near Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

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MAYOR ANTHONY WILLIAMS, WASHINGTON, D.C.: Over 2,000 employees -- I believe it's 2,000 employees exactly at the Brentwood facility here in the city, as well as 150 employees at the Air Mail Center near BWI Airport -- Baltimore-Washington International. These employees will be receiving testing and will be receiving treatment.

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KOCH: Now, late Saturday night, there were crews in biohazard suits who began scouring the House side of the Capitol, because there had been two incidents of anthrax spores discovered there -- first time any of those had been discovered on the House side of the Capitol, one of them in the Ford House Office Building that processes and bundles mail for numerous buildings. This particular machine that tested positive was bundling mail for the Longworth House Office Building.

There was also anthrax found in a mail screening facility that is off of Capitol Hill and run by the U.S. Capitol police. So the screenings were going on, the people in the biohazard suits checking out the House side of the Capitol very intensely. And at this point, Capitol Hill police say that the leaders of both the House and the Senate are reconsidering and eying their decisions to start business tomorrow morning on the Senate side -- Tuesday on the House side in light of these new discoveries -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Kathleen Koch -- thank you very much.

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