HARTFORD, Conn. - After a trace of anthrax turned up at a postalcenter in Wallingford, the top federal health official said hebelieves there is enough evidence to label the death of 94-year-oldOttilie Lundgren a case of cross-contamination from the mail.
More sophisticated tests turned up the tiny amounts of thebacteria at the center where mail is processed for Oxford, the townwhere Lundgren lived, authorities said.
"It appears they found enough leads now that it's definitelycross-contamination from some of the letters," U.S. Secretary ofHealth and Human Services Tommy Thompson said today in Washington.
"I'm happy that we can tell the American people that part of themystery's been solved," he told a reporter. "But at the same timeI'm concerned about the cross-contamination because you can't seethese little buggers and where's the next cross contamination goingto take place?"
The anthrax was found on four mail-sorting machines at theSouthern Connecticut Processing & Distribution Center inWallingford, where workers handle about 3 million pieces of maildaily headed for New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties.
The center had been tested three times before and no signs ofanthrax were found. But on Nov. 28, workers used a vacuum with afilter designed to trap minute particles, and scientists found traceamounts of the bacteria, said Mike Groutt, a spokesman for thefederal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The vacuum is designed to get down to where spores might be inthe cracks and crevices," Groutt said.
The machines likely were contaminated when an anthrax-taintedletter destined for an address in Seymour, a few miles fromLundgren's home, passed through the plant Oct. 11, said Jon Steele,vice president of Northeast Area Operations.
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