Anthrax Found In US Consulate's Mailbags In Russia
The State Center for Medical-Epidemiological Control of the Sverdlovsk region informed the U.S. consulate in Yekaterinburg that one of their six diplomatic mailbags was tested positive for anthrax spores. The mailbags were received from Washington D.C. on October 25, Interfax news agency reported, quoting the consulate press service.
This is the first anthrax incident in Russia since the poisoned mail attacks United States.
The centre tested the diplomatic mail on the request of the consulate on October 26 after a mailroom employee of the State Department in Sterling, Virginia, contracted the disease.
The amount of anthrax in the bag was negligible, consulate press attashe Lada Tikhonova told journalists. The spores were found inside the bag. The source of the anthrax was not established.
According to the consulate their employees have started taking medication. The mailroom of the consulate is being disinfected.
There have been 17 confirmed U.S. anthrax cases reported to date, four of which were fatal.
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