Details:

Journal Article:
HAN
Corporate Authors:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
Description:
Saturday, October 27 , 2001, 21:30 EDT (9:30 PM EDT)

CDCHAN-00048-2001-10-27-UPD–N

An ongoing investigation has identified a total of 5 mailroom employees with inhalational anthrax from two mailroom facilities (US Postal Service Washington DC Processing and Distribution Center at 900 Brentwood Road, NE, Washington; and Department of State Annex 32 mailroom facility) in the greater Washington DC Metropolitan area (Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia). Preliminary environmental sampling has also revealed contamination in mailrooms serving the Central Intelligence Agency, House of Representatives, Supreme Court, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), and White House, and in the Southwest Postal Station. This is in addition to previous reports of contamination in the mailroom serving the Hart Senate Building, related to a Bacillus anthracis-laden letter received by a Senator.

No cases of inhalational or cutaneous anthrax have been reported among customers who entered any US Postal facility to purchase stamps or conduct other postal business.

The CDC continues to recommend that all people who have been in the non-public, mail operations areas of the Brentwood and State Department facilities (the two facilities with inhalation anthrax cases) since October 11, 2001, receive 60-days of prophylaxis for potential exposure to anthrax. These facilities remain closed pending the results of comprehensive environmental sampling and determination of requisite remediation. In addition, the mail facilities that supply the CIA, House office buildings, Supreme Court, W RAIR, White House, and Southwest postal facilities (with confirmed environmental swabs for B anthracis) have been closed for remediation. All workers in those buildings should complete a 60-day course of prophylaxis.

Event Type: anthrax terrorism event - Brentwood Postal Distribution Center

Context: general information

Event Type: Man-made

Agent Type: bacteria

Specify Agent (Name): anthrax

International: no

Intentional/Unintentional: intentional


Subjects:
[+]
Anthrax Antibiotic Prophylaxis Bioterrorism Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Postal Service
Series:
HAN ; 048
Document Type:
HAN Health Update
Place as Subject:
District of Columbia ; Maryland
District of Columbia ; Maryland Less -
Location:
North America
Collection(s):
Health Alert Network (HAN)
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:a877a09b98e88167523ade6c9c0c06fbdf718bee889324da76e397b58e2defff
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/24961/cdc_24961_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• No Additional Files

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