NBC News Worker Has Anthrax

N E W   Y O R K, Oct. 12 -- An NBC News employee based in New York City has tested positive for anthrax, the network and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said today, and the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into how the woman became infected.

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched a separate criminal investigation to find out the source of the anthrax in the New York City case," Attorney General John Ashcroft announced today in Washington.

The New York infection follows the discovery of anthrax at another major U.S. media corporation, American Media Inc., in Florida. One employee there died of inhalation anthrax a week ago, and two others tested positive for exposure to the disease, but authorities stress they have no evidence linking the two incidents.

Also today, a New York Times reporter received a letter with the same handwriting and St. Petersburg, Fla., postmark as the suspicious NBC letter, and also containing a white powder. The Times tonight said tests on the powder had come back negativeand further tests were being conducted to confirm the results.

Nevada is also on alert for anthrax exposure. State health officials said tonight they are analyzing a letter sent from Malaysia to a Microsoft Licensing office in Reno that has tested positive for anthrax in preliminary examination. A second test conducted on the sample proved negative for anthrax and a third test is being conducted.

Six people came into immediate contact with the letter and they are the only ones being monitored for possible exposure to anthrax, said Barbara Hunt, Washoe County district health officer.

In New York, the NBC employee was infected through her skin, with a much less deadly form of the disease known as cutaneous anthrax, Giuliani said at a news conference with NBC network head Andrew Lack and FBI officials. Virtually all people with that form of the disease recover completely if treated properly.

The employee was responding well to treatment, Lack said. "She is in good health and in good care," he said. Giuliani said this afternoon the woman was currently resting at home.

The 38-year-old woman, whose name was withheld, works as an assistant to NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw on the third floor of the company's Manhattan headquarters, where the Today show and Saturday Night Live are also produced.

Employee Developed Lesion; Powder Tested Negative

The NBC employee opened a piece of suspicious mail on Sept. 25 that contained a powder, and she reported it to company security. The envelope and powder inside were forwarded to the FBI and tested negative for anthrax, Giuliani said. Despite the negative results, authorities are still highly suspicious of its contents.