Anthrax Alert in White House

Anthrax scares is heating up as anthrax bacteria were found in the White House mail facility on Oct. 23.

On this day, New Jersey State health authority urgently instructed the people who had used Hamilton Post Office and West Trenton Post Office to take antibiotic treatment.

The White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, ``A small concentration of anthrax spores was discovered on a machinery that sorts letters at a mail processing center at Bolling Air Force Base several miles away from the White House.``

But White House Secret Service, which has been supervising this mail center, announced, ``Tests on workers at White House mail facilities and White House officials showed that none had been exposed to anthrax bacteria.``

``I don`t have anthrax.`` the U.S. President George W. Bush said after the announcement. He said there was still no hard evidence but ``It would not surprise me if the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda is involved in this incidence.``

Pentagon gave a new warning order against terrorism to overseas Americans and urged them to be careful with bio-chemical terrors such as anthrax.

New Jersey health authority said on the night of Oct. 23, ``The samples collected from Hamilton Post Office and West Trenton Post Office tested positive for anthrax.`` and instructed the workers and civilians who had used these buildings to take the 10 day antibiotic treatment immediate.

Meanwhile, the number of those who are infected with anthrax continues to increase as two postal workers at the Brentwood Postal Service office in Washington were confirmed on Oct. 23 as having died from anthrax, and one postal worker at a New Jersey post office was confirmed to have been infected with inhalation anthrax.

Han Ki-Heung eligius@donga.com