WASHINGTON - Investigators hunting down those responsible for a string of anthrax attacks in Washington, New York and Florida said today that the same strains were used, suggesting they came from a single source, and warned that more attacks were possible.
But officials said there was no evidence that the
anthrax used in the recent attacks was processed in order to make it more likely to infect people, as some reports had suggested.
"The tests to date have concluded that the strains are indistinguishable," White House Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge told a White House news conference, in which he announced the formation of a new task force and grants aimed at beefing up state and local preparedness for any future attacks.
"It does appear that it may have been from the same batch," he added. "It may have been distributed to different individuals also to infect and descend into different communities."
But Ridge denied that the anthrax used in letters sent to news organisations in New York, a tabloid publishing house in Florida and to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle in Washington were manufactured to be weapons.
Ridge was responding to reports that the anthrax sent to Daschle's office may have been processed in order to increase the likelihood of infection or to make it antibiotic-resistant, or more toxic.
He said the government was stepping up efforts to track down those responsible for the attacks.
In addition to identifying the anthrax strains, Ridge said the FBI has been able to identify the site where the letters were mailed.
So far, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said, there have been two cases of "inhalation" anthrax in Florida, at the offices American Media Inc. in Boca Raton. One man died there, while another is recovering and is being treated with antibiotics.
In New York, there were three cases at NBC, ABC and CBS. Each is being treated with antibiotics, Thompson said.
A sixth case -- a postal worker in Trenton, New Jersey -- was also being treated with antibiotics, Thompson said.
A seventh case was also announced on Friday at the offices of the New York Post.
Ridge acknowledged that more attacks were possible.
"I wish I could tell you that we have seen the end of it, but obviously we are preparing for more. That's why we have increased the supply of antibiotics and that's why we are pursuing every lead as aggressively as possible," Ridge said.
With President Bush in China for an Asia-Pacific summit, Ridge's appearance led a major administration effort to stem mounting uncertainty over the anthrax scare.
The administration has been criticised for making inconsistent statements on the outbreak and contributing to anxiety.
"Our water supplies, power plants, dams and other critical infrastructures are being guarded and strengthened," Ridge said. "Many of these new security measures are clearly visible, but many, many more are not."
- REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Investigators hunting down those responsible for a string of anthrax attacks in Washington, New York and Florida said today that the same strains were used, suggesting they came from a single source, and warned that more attacks were possible.
But officials said there was no evidence that the
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