Return to Transcripts main page
On the Story
Connecticut Anthrax Victim Was Nearly A Shut-In
Aired November 22, 2001 - 08:02 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In the latest anthrax case, investigators are trying to retrace the recent steps of an elderly Connecticut woman, who died of the inhaled form of the disease. And authorities say this case is especially puzzling because this woman was nearly a shut-in.
CNN's Michael Okwu is staying on top of developments for us. He joins us now live from Oxford, Connecticut with the latest -- Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. It is a typically quiet Thanksgiving morning here in New England. With a little bit of frost on the ground and certainly a sobering chill in the air, as many of the residents here wake up to the news, yet again, that one of their residents here has died.
Ninety-four-year-old Ottilie Lundgren died of inhalation anthrax yesterday. She, as you mentioned, is the fifth such case to die since tainted letters started showing up in our postal system last month. Her case has perplexed investigators, since she was not a postal worker, and she had no apparent connection to any government facilities or to any media outlets.
This morning, we have been standing here on the street, and we had noticed that there have been police vehicles, and at least one team from the CDC traveled up this road to her house in this section of southwestern Connecticut.
Yesterday morning, the FBI sealed her home and are apparently sensitive about letting the media get any closer this morning.
They're operating under the premise that she may have been the victim of some cross-contamination. One possibility investigators are considering is that she may have received a piece of contaminated mail from Washington, where, of course, several government offices and a large postal center had been contaminated. And they have been interviewing friends, relatives and neighbors, trying to retrace her steps.
At 94, this was not a woman who moved much beyond her weekly visit to the beauty salon. But still, Leon, investigators are looking at the possibility that she may have crossed paths with Kathy Nguyen, who, of course, was the 61-year-old hospital worker, who died mysteriously of inhalation anthrax last month in New York -- Leon. HARRIS: Thank you very much -- Michael Okwu reporting live for us this morning from Oxford, Connecticut. We'll get back to you in a bit -- stay warm in the meantime.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
