Pakistani newspaper receives envelope with anthrax spores

By Gene Mater
freedomforum.org

11.02.01

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Rescue workers in Karachi examine newsroom of Pakistan's largest newspaper, Daily Jang, after it was sealed off today.

The Karachi offices of Pakistan's largest newspaper — the Urdu-language Daily Jang — have received an envelope containing anthrax spores in what is believed to be the first such confirmed case outside of the U.S.

A Jang reporter received a hand-delivered contaminated envelope on Oct. 23, an envelope that was supposed to contain a press release, according to a story in today's Daily News, an English-language sister publication of Daily Jang.

Instead of the press release, the envelope contained white powder, which was sent to the Aga Khan University Hospital for laboratory examination. Yesterday, the newspaper learned that the tests had proved positive for anthrax spores.

Six staffers were present when the envelope was opened. They and another 60 employees will be put on antibiotics for 60 days. The offices have been closed and have been completely disinfected. They are expected to reopen tomorrow afternoon.

Mehmood Sham, editor of Daily Jang, said no one on staff appears to be infected, according to Reuters.

The Daily Jang Karachi office receives more than 1,000 letters a day, according to the Daily News. It also reported that the Jang offices in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Rawalpindi, as well as in London, had received letters threatening anthrax attacks. All of those reports proved untrue.

Reuters reported that there had been anthrax scares in Pakistan at the U.S. Embassy and the British High Commission in Islamabad and that a suspicious letter was received by a foreign bank in Karachi. There were conflicting reports about whether those cases were false alarms.

The Daily News said "special measures" had been adopted by the post office as a result of the Daily Jang case, including providing masks and gloves to people who handle mail.

Police in Karachi have launched what the Daily News called an extensive search for the person who brought the anthrax envelope to the Jang offices.

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