- News>
- Anthrax Alarm!
Suspicious letter found in NATO mail room
A letter containing suspicious white powder has been discovered in a NATO mail room in Macedonia - the country`s first reported instance of NATO mail possibly being contaminated with anthrax, an alliance spokesman said Thursday.
A letter containing suspicious white powder has been discovered in a NATO mail room in Macedonia - the country's first reported instance of NATO mail possibly being contaminated with anthrax, an alliance spokesman said Thursday.
The letter, postmarked in China and addressed to a "non-existing soldier - Paolo Rossi of the German contingent," was found Wednesday, NATO spokesman Craig Ratcliff told reporters.
He said that this was the first such case involving NATO troops in Macedonia.
"The individuals in contact with the mail - five military personnel and one civilian - received antibiotics. The mailroom was sealed and decontaminated," Ratcliff said. He added that the contents of the letter would be analyzed, with the first results expected within five days.
Ratcliff did not revel the nationalities of those being treated.
In the past month, anthrax has killed four people and sickened 13 others in the United States.
In Hanoi, an official in Vietnam's Ministry of Health said Thursday that preliminary tests conducted on suspicious powder found at a BP joint venture company indicated the substance was anthrax.
Previous suspected cases of anthrax-tainted mail outside the United States have later been found to be negative. Bureau Report
The letter, postmarked in China and addressed to a "non-existing soldier - Paolo Rossi of the German contingent," was found Wednesday, NATO spokesman Craig Ratcliff told reporters.
He said that this was the first such case involving NATO troops in Macedonia.
"The individuals in contact with the mail - five military personnel and one civilian - received antibiotics. The mailroom was sealed and decontaminated," Ratcliff said. He added that the contents of the letter would be analyzed, with the first results expected within five days.
Ratcliff did not revel the nationalities of those being treated.
In the past month, anthrax has killed four people and sickened 13 others in the United States.
In Hanoi, an official in Vietnam's Ministry of Health said Thursday that preliminary tests conducted on suspicious powder found at a BP joint venture company indicated the substance was anthrax.
Previous suspected cases of anthrax-tainted mail outside the United States have later been found to be negative. Bureau Report