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Sunday, October 14, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Anthrax bacteria in Reno letter

Small amount poses no risks, health officials say

RENO -- A battery of tests completed Saturday determined that a pornographic picture mailed from Malaysia to a Microsoft office in Reno did contain the anthrax bacteria.

Authorities promptly sent a sample to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where experts as early as today will establish whether the bacteria are capable of causing anthrax.

Health officials said it is possible the bacteria represent a harmless strain used to create vaccine.

Regardless of the outcome of those tests, state officials said the pornographic picture mailed to the south Reno office of Microsoft Licensing does not pose a serious health risk, even to the person who opened the letter.

Dr. Dee Brown, director of the state laboratory where the testing was performed, said the amount of bacteria found on the picture was insufficient to infect a person.

"It would take many times over what we have here to infect someone," Brown said.

In addition to one fatality, at least nine people on the East Coast have contracted anthrax, have shown symptoms of anthrax or tested positive for exposure by inhaling or touching bacteria-produced spores sent through the mail.

Despite widespread speculation, authorities have not publicly linked these incidents to the terror network responsible for the Sept. 11 hijackings of four airliners.

On Saturday, health officials said no one in Northern Nevada had tested positive for anthrax.

Health workers swabbed the noses of six people, five Microsoft employees and one family member of an employee, to obtain samples for testing. Results of those tests could be completed today.

Authorities first raised the possibility of an anthrax incident when they announced Friday afternoon that preliminary testing had detected anthrax. Hours later, authorities announced that subsequent testing did not detect anthrax.

At that time, authorities cautioned that the issue would not be resolved until results of the sole remaining test were available Saturday morning.

Gov. Kenny Guinn announced Saturday that this test had confirmed the presence of the bacteria that cause anthrax.

The governor said he was convinced that his administration made the right call by alerting the public to a possible anthrax threat after the first positive test result was returned Friday afternoon.

He said his decision to release the information was based on statements issued recently by the White House telling Americans to be vigilant, even if no specific threat has been identified.

"There are no secrets here, and the best thing you can do is be open and honest," Guinn said.

The piece of mail that sparked the Reno anthrax scare was initially sent by Microsoft Licensing to an unidentified vendor in Malaysia. The envelope was returned several weeks ago, but it was not until Wednesday that an employee opened it.

Guinn said the check Microsoft had mailed was still inside the envelope. However, it appeared to have been dampened and then dried.

Also, the employee discovered that five pornographic magazine pictures had been inserted into the envelope before it was returned.

Alarmed Microsoft employees immediately contacted authorities.

Employees with the state Health Division tested the contents of the envelope Friday and Saturday. The check was not tainted, but bacteria of the type that causes anthrax were found on one of the pictures.

Authorities on Saturday sent a sample of the bacteria to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Brown, the state laboratory director, said the shipment was expected to arrive at the CDC on Saturday, but was delayed in Memphis by inclement weather.

The DNA testing the CDC will perform takes less than one hour, and state health officials said they expected results would be available today.

The CDC tests will determine whether the bacteria found on the pornographic picture are capable of causing disease. It is possible, health officials said, that the bacteria are of a type used to create vaccine. If so, they would pose no health risk.

About 160 Microsoft employees work in the office located inside a building that is owned by Sierra Pacific Power Co.

More than 100 employees of Microsoft and Sierra Pacific attended an informational meeting Saturday in the offices of the Washoe County Commission.

Most employees declined to comment as they left the meeting, which was closed to the media.

But Microsoft employee Bill Thomas said the incident hasn't caused him much worry, only made him more vigilant.

"I can't control it. I just get on with my life," he said.

Thomas said that during the meeting he sat next to the Microsoft employee who opened the envelope.

"He's doing fine," Thomas said.

He described morale among employees as high and said the incident wouldn't stop worker from doing their jobs or living their lives.

A Microsoft spokesman referred questions to the FBI, which with the assistance of state agencies is investigating the matter.

Daron Borst, a spokesman for the Las Vegas office of the FBI, said specialists from the agency's Weapons of Mass Destruction team were assisting in the probe.

"Anytime you send anthrax through the mail, the intent is to induce fear, and that's a form of terrorism," Borst said. "We will track them down."

Brown, the state laboratory director, said the trace amounts of anthrax found in the envelope were mixed with many other substances normally found on human skin.

While cautioning that he was discussing only one possible explanation, he said this could indicate the picture was tainted accidentally.

Anthrax is most common in livestock and can be spread to humans through exposure to the tissue of an infected animal.

"If it (the tainted picture) were handled in an agrarian country, where cattle live and die nearby, it may have been handled by someone who had some on their hands," Brown said.

Review-Journal staff writer J.M. Kalil contributed to this report.