Anthrax Sample Confirmed in Kenya

ByABC News
October 18, 2001, 9:52 AM

Oct. 18 -- Kenyan authorities today said a letter mailed from Atlanta has tested positive for anthrax spores, the first such case outside the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks.

The unidentified Kenyan recipient and four other family members "may have come into contact" with the bacteria and were being tested, said Health Minister Sam Ongeri.

He said the five were being tested, but were not in any danger. The powder in the letter was undergoing more tests at a government lab.

The letter had been mailed from Atlanta three days before the Sept. 11 attacks, was received in Kenya on Oct. 9, and was opened on Oct. 11, Ongeri said.

Kenyan authorities were also investigating two other letters, one to a U.N. official in Nairobi and another to a businessman in the central Kenyan town of Nyeri. The two letters, one of which was mailed in Pakistan and another in Nairobi, had suspicious white powder on them, he said.

Panic Around the World

The latest revelation came as the anthrax cases in the United States have triggered panic attack, hoaxes and alerts around the world.

Postal services were in a disarray across parts of Britain today as hundreds of postal workers were evacuated from the main postal office in the British town of Birmingham after a "suspicious" letter addressed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair triggered a panic.

Tests on the letter came out negative and postal staff was allowed to return to work hours after the evacuation.

The incident came despite pleas for calm by British authorities and warnings that hoaxers, if caught, would be severely punished.

British Home Secretary David Blunkett today said hoaxers would receive a maximum penalty from six months to seven years, putting them on the same level as bomb hoaxers by British law.

Although the public has been urged to stay calm, British emergency services have been issued new guidelines on how to cope with an anthrax attack, should it occur.

Universal Terror

In the Greek capital of Athens, offices of the Health Ministry were shut down today after an employee opened a letter containing suspicious powder addressed to the former U.S. Ambassador Nick Burns, Greek police said.