MMWR. 2001;50:1077-1079
CDC and state and local health departments continue investigating cases of bioterrorism-related anthrax. This report revises the number of suspected cases and updates the investigation of a 94-year-old Connecticut (CT) resident who died from inhalational anthrax.
As of December 5, a total of 22 cases of anthrax have been identified; 11 were confirmed as inhalational anthrax, and 11 (seven confirmed and four suspected) were cutaneous. A 54-year-old man who lived in Delaware and who worked at a postal facility in New Jersey (NJ) previously had been classified as having a suspected case of cutaneous anthrax. Additional laboratory findings indicate that the patient's illness no longer meets the CDC surveillance case definition for anthrax.1 Initially, he was classified as having a suspected case because of a lesion on his left hand and elevated levels of antibody (IgG) to the protective antigen component of anthrax toxin. Subsequent biopsies of the . . . [Full Text of this Article]