Anthrax has become a new horror in America, causing enough concern that Congress decided to shut down to deal with outbreaks within its own offices. Now that 13 cases of anthrax infection — including three fatalities — have been confirmed, the fear continues.
But Congress and mail workers are also returning to work and getting over the fear, said Brooke Botello, a University student currently interning for Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore.
Botello was tested for anthrax exposure after waiting in line for 3 and a half hours. She was in Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s, D-S.D., offices on Oct. 15 when anthrax was discovered there. Twenty-eight of his aides tested positive for anthrax exposure.
Her test came back negative, however, and she said those in Washington are now “getting back to business.”
“The mood is calm again,” she said. “Everybody is back to getting work done.”
Oregon and Lane County officials say they wish citizens here would be calm as well. Federal authorities don’t see much of a chance for an anthrax outbreak in Oregon, yet EPD and Lane County Sheriff’s offices continue to receive calls from worried citizens throughout the state.
“There is no information to suggest there are any targets in Oregon,” FBI agent Mike Morrow said.
Though the outbreaks of the acute infectious disease can no longer be viewed as isolated incidents, the low number of occurrences should not be cause for the nation to panic, officials said.
“We’re fielding hundreds of calls a day,” said Dr. Ann Thomas, a medical epidemiologist for Oregon Health Division. “We’ve tested suspicious substances, and nothing in Oregon has turned out to be positive.”
It’s not even uncommon to see some kind of powder in the mail, Thomas said. Some magazine publishers will mail their magazines with a talc powder or corn starch to preserve the glossy-look of a magazine, she said.
The Eugene Police Department responded to a wave of calls by asking Eugene citizens to stay calm after the first anthrax outbreak in Florida.
“Our communication center was overwhelmed,” said Eugene Police Department Spokeswoman Pam Alejandre. “We had people calling wondering if their flour was actually anthrax.”
Lane County Sheriff Jan Clements said his office received a report from a woman worried about dust on her car. The substance turned out to be pollen.
Clements held a press conference last week to reassure Lane County that it has the means to deal with an anthrax attack if one should occur.
“I’m trying to calm people in the community and give cause for minimizing their fear,” Clements said. “We need to really put things in perspective. Five thousand people die from food poisoning each year and thousands from car accidents, but that doesn’t keep people from driving cars.”
He said he does recognize, however, that the American people have discovered a new scare that needs to be addressed.
Lane County, he said, is well equipped to handle most emergency cases within the county on its own. However, when handling certain situations is beyond the county’s capabilities, the state and national government will be asked to intervene.
“If anthrax was found, we would be working directly with the FBI, the Oregon Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — everybody would be working together to deal with the problem,” Clements said. “We’re positioned to coordinate an effective public response.”
Rob Rockstroh, the director of Lane County Health and Human Services, said the county is also well equipped to handle a communicable disease outbreak.
“We once had an outbreak of Hepatitis A and had 1,200 people lined up for shots,” he said. “We’re very used to dealing with communicable disease reporting.”
Botello, a University senior living on the East Coast, returned to work for Sen. Gordon Smith on Wednesday.
Smith’s office is located in the Russell building, the only Senate office building that has reopened. Two of the House office buildings — the Rayburn and Cannon buildings — reopened last week.
So far, no mail is being circulated through the open Senate and House office buildings, though inside mail will resume circulation tomorrow, Botello said. She has also seen an intense increase in security, something she said should have been in place from the beginning.
“There are Capitol police everywhere; dogs are used to sniff out cars that park near the Capitol, mirrors are being used under the cars,” Botello said. “Security should have been this tight to begin with.”
She said she’s not scared anymore. In fact, she and Ali Burket, also a University student interning for Smith, discussed coming back to Oregon and changed their minds.