World on Alert After U.S. Anthrax Scares

Oct. 16, 2001 -- Anthrax may not be contagious, but alerts around the world today proved how communicable fear is.

The scares, stretching from Canada to New Zealand, follow a week in which several high-profile American figures and organizations revealed they had been targeted with anthrax.

But all of the incidents abroad today proved to be false alarms. Many of them were from people who mistook flour or other white powder for the substance that has been sent to some U.S. victims, or were the work of hoaxsters.

There has not been any new discoveries of anthrax in any form outside U.S. borders.

On Monday, the infant son of an ABCNEWS producer was diagnosed with anthrax and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said he had received an anthrax contaminated letter.

Last week, NBC reported that one of its employees tested positive for anthrax after receiving a threatening letter intended for anchorman Tom Brokaw.

The first report of an anthrax exposure came on Oct. 9, when American Media, publishers of the tabloid The National Enquirer, closed its Boca Raton, Fla. headquarters after revealing one of its employees had died from the disease.

That employee has so far been the only person to die from anthrax. Twelve others are known to have been exposed.

Panic in the Postal System

In Israel, the Maariv tabloid received a suspicious letter containing white powder along with a note saying "regards from Afghanistan." Police evacuated the Jerusalem building and called in hazardous materials experts, but the incident turned out to be prank.

In London, 12 mail room employees from the London Stock Exchange were taken to the hospital for tests after receiving a suspect package, but none showed symptoms. They were being tested as a "precautionary measure," police said.

Across the channel, the headquarters of the French Space Agency and Arianespace, as well as German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's building received suspicious letters. Tests on all the mail proved negative.

Officials in Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic also had suspicious mail examined by experts.

The letters received in Sweden had all been sent to corporations, one of which was posted from Dubai to U.S. company Levi Strauss & Co.

In Finland, they were addressed to commercial television broadcaster MTV3 and Helsinki's World Trade Center office complex, among other locations. Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman was also a recipient.

White Powder Alerts

The presence of unattended white powder caused alarm in other corners of the world.

Police around Cyprus' parliament building went into a panic today when white powder was found sprinkled on nearby ground — but that turned out only to be a flour trail for runners.

In Portugal, soldiers in protective suits sprayed a Lisbon car repair shop after mechanics found a box of white powder, and in Lithuania, U.S. Embassy officials sent a package containing unidentified white powder for testing.

White powder was also found aboard a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Brazil, but laboratory tests showed no harmful bacteria.

And a post office in the New Zealand town of Eltham was evacuated and staff were decontaminated after unidentified powder was also found in a mail bag.

A More Potent Contagion

About three dozen employees of Canada's parliament were washed down by firefighters wearing head-to-toe protection suits after a women who handled a magazine and an envelope reported suffering rashes. All tests were negative.

In the small town of Vizhickathode in south India, postal workers complained of itching, nausea and giddiness after handling a damaged envelope. Police said panic spread to residents, but they only found a greeting card in the envelope.