From the Center for Disease Control press release October 4, 2001
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/04Oct01Anthrax.htm

Public Health Message Regarding Anthrax Case

The Florida State Department of Health and the CDC are investigating a case
of anthrax in a 63-year-old male Florida resident. The diagnosis is
confirmed by CDC's laboratory. So far this appears to be an isolated case.

Anthrax is not contagious. The illness is not transmitted person to person.

Sporadic cases of anthrax do occur in the United States, so a single case is
not an indication of an outbreak. The last case of anthrax reported in the
United States was earlier this year in Texas.

The rapid identification of this single case is the result of the heightened
level of disease monitoring being done by the public health and medical
community. This is the disease monitoring system in action.

Right now, there is no suggestion of other possible cases, but we are
aggressively checking to see if other people are similarly ill.

The Florida State Health Department and a team from CDC are aggressively
investigating the source of infection. They are reconstructing the patient's
schedule for the last few weeks to attempt to determine the location where
the patient may have been exposed.

A team of CDC epidemiologists were sent to Florida to look for any
indications of exposure to this disease. Medical teams and supplies are
prepared to be moved quickly if needed.
CDC and state health officials are alerting health care providers to look
for unusual cases of respiratory disease. Although anthrax starts out with
flu-like symptoms, it rapidly progresses to severe illnesses, including
pneumonia and meningitis.

If anyone has been exposed, antibiotics are the appropriate preventive
treatment. CDC has an emergency supply of antibiotics readily available for
distribution. If the investigation of the cause of this illness indicated
that you need antibiotics, your state and local health department will
notify you and your physician and will assure you receive the drugs.

Based on what we know right now, there is no need for people to take any
extraordinary actions or steps. They should not go to a doctor or hospital
unless they are sick. They should not buy and horde medicines or
antibiotics.

[CNN news adds the note that: "All forms are rare, but the most recent cases
-- including ones in Texas and North Dakota -- have been so-called cutaneous
cases resulting from handling animals.
During the 20th century, only 18 cases of inhaled anthrax have been reported
in the United States, the most recent in 1976."]


-----Original Message-----
From: Anne [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2001 3:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Anthrax


Would like to ask if anyone every heard of someone contracting Anthrax
exposure to natural causes. I live in South Florida and it just became known
that there is a man in West Palm area who has been diagnosed with Anthrax
exposure. Thanks.

Anne Llewellyn, RN.C, BHSA, CCM, CRRN, CEAC