PO
360
Trenton, NJ 08625-0360
For Release:
November 5, 2001
|
George
T. DiFerdinando, Jr., MD, MPH
Acting Commissioner
For
Further Information Contact:
Laura Otterbourg or Dennis McGowan
(609) 984-7160
|
|
COMMISSIONER'S
MESSAGE
"Now
that all DHSS, CDC and FBI environmental samples collected in the
West Trenton Post Office and areas outside the facility have come
back negative for anthrax, we are recommending that all West Trenton
postal employees can stop taking the 60-days of prophylactic antibiotics
they had been prescribed earlier in this outbreak," said Health
and Senior Services Acting Commissioner George T. DiFerdinando,
Jr., MD.
"We
are likewise recommending that those employees of the Princeton
Main Post Office who chose to take prophylactic antibiotics can
now stop taking them," he added. "Employees with continuing
health concerns should contact their personal health care provider,
or the occupational health services available to postal employees."
HUMAN
TESTING RESULTS
Following
is an update on the condition of persons suspected or confirmed
with anthrax: Note that the CDC defines a confirmed case of anthrax
as 1) a clinically compatible case of cutaneous, inhalational, or
gastrointestinal illness that is laboratory confirmed by isolation
of B. anthracis from an affected tissue or site or 2) other
laboratory evidence of B. anthracis infection based on at
least two supportive laboratory tests. A suspected case is
defined as 1) a clinically compatible case of illness without isolation
of
B. anthracis and no alternative diagnosis, but with laboratory
evidence of B. anthracis by one supportive laboratory test
or 2) a clinically compatible case of anthrax epidemiologically
linked to a confirmed environmental exposure, but without corroborative
laboratory evidence of B. anthracis infection.
| Patients |
Patient
Status |
Conditions |
| Delaware
resident who works at the Bellmawr Mail Distribution Center |
Listed
as a Suspected Cutaneous case by CDC on Oct. 31 |
Recovered |
| Kuser
Road (Hamilton) office worker |
Confirmed
Cutaneous case by CDC on Oct 29 |
Released
from hospital and recovering |
| West
Trenton Postal worker |
Confirmed
Cutaneous case by CDC on Oct. 18 |
Recovered |
| Route
130 Hamilton Mail Processing Facility worker |
Listed
as Suspected Cutaneous case by CDC on Oct. 18 |
Recovered |
| Route
130 Hamilton Mail Processing Facility worker |
Listed
as Confirmed Cutaneous case on Oct. 19 by Pennsylvania Department
of Health |
Recovered |
| Route
130 Hamilton Mail Processing Facility worker |
Confirmed
Inhalational case by CDC on Oct 28. |
Released
from hospital and recovering |
| Route
130 Mail Hamilton Processing Facility worker |
Confirmed
Inhalational case by CDC on Oct. 29. |
Released
from hospital and recovering |
ENVIRONMENTAL
TESTING RESULTS
Following
is a listing of environmental sampling tests conducted by the New
Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and crime scene sampling
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
| Facility |
Organization |
Results |
| Bellmawr
Mail Distribution Center |
DHSS,
CDC & FBI |
Approximately
100 samples were collected Oct. 31. One of the FBI samples is
positive through final testing. All other FBI, DHSS and CDC
samples taken are negative through final testing. Although not
recommended by DHSS and CDC, workers at the facility were offered
10 days of antibiotics. |
| Kuser
Road Office Building |
DHSS,
CDC & FBI |
Sampling
was conducted Oct. 30. One FBI sample from an in-office mail
bin was reported positive on Nov. 2. All other FBI, DHSS and
CDC samples are negative through final testing. The DHSS and
CDC did not recommend that the office be closed. The area around
where the positive sample was collected has been cleaned. |
| Princeton
Main, West Windsor |
DHSS,
CDC & FBI |
23
samples taken Oct. 27 are negative through final testing. 22
samples taken Oct. 27 are negative and one sample is positive
through final testing. Additional environmental samples were
collected Oct. 30 and all are negative through final testing.
The area around where the positive sample was collected has
been cleaned. Although not recommended by DHSS and CDC, workers
were offered 10 days of antibiotics. DHSS and CDC recommend
that employees can stop taking prophylactic antibiotics. |
| Route
130 Mail Processing Facility, Hamilton Township |
DHSS,
CDC & FBI |
34
out of 102 samples taken are positive for anthrax through final
testing (14 of 23 collected by the FBI on Oct. 18; 20 of 59
collected by DHSS and CDC on Oct. 21). The DHSS also collected
20 samples on Oct 18 in the public and common use areas and
all are negative through final testing. All employees and business
visitors have been advised to complete a 60-day course of prophylactic
antibiotics. |
| Carteret
Facility |
DHSS
& CDC |
All
14 samples taken Oct. 24 are negative for anthrax through final
testing. The DHSS and CDC has informed the facility manager
to advise workers and business visitors to stop taking antibiotics
that had been given as a precautionary measure. |
| Downtown
Station on Montgomery St., Trenton |
FBI |
All
11 samples taken to date are negative for anthrax through final
testing. |
| West
Trenton facility, Ewing Twp. |
DHSS,
CDC & FBI |
All
20 FBI samples taken Oct. 19 and analyzed at the United States
Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID)
are negative for anthrax through final testing. All 15 samples
taken Oct. 23 by the FBI from areas outside the facility are
negative for anthrax through final testing. All 22 DHSS and
CDC samples taken Oct. 25 are negative for anthrax through final
testing. DHSS and CDC recommend that employees can stop taking
prophylactic antibiotics. |
*The
U.S. Postal Service is conducting its own environmental sampling and
testing of approximately 200 postal facilities nationwide - including
some in New Jersey - through the services of private environmental
consulting companies. For more information, please contact the U.S.
Postal Service.
 DHSS
and CDC collected 15 to 25 environmental samples on Nov. 3 from
each of the 48 post offices in Central New Jersey not previously
sampled that have their mail processed at the Hamilton Mail Processing
Facility. The ten teams that collected the samples also met with
postal employees to answer questions and address concerns. CDC will
test the samples
The approximately
1,300 nasal swab tests done on workers from the Hamilton and West
Trenton postal facilities are all negative through final testing.
The nasal swabs were taken by DHSS, CDC and Robert Wood Johnson
University Medical Center-Hamilton. A negative nasal swab test does
not mean that a person has not been exposed to anthrax and individuals
from the Hamilton facility are urged to continue their antibiotic
treatment.
As of today,
the state laboratory has received more than 1,634 environmental
samples, such as envelopes and packages, collected by law enforcement
agencies from across the state. Testing on 1,498 of those
specimens has been completed and all are negative for anthrax. The
lab conducts culture tests on environmental samples and on clinical
samples that meet established testing protocols.
The
Department has a bioterrorism phone line at the Emergency Operations
Center at 609-538-6030 that is open between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00
p.m. until further notice. Hearing-impaired residents with anthrax-related
concerns can contact the Department through the New Jersey Relay
Center by dialing either 711 or 1-800-852-7899. The Relay Center
will convey the caller's message to DHSS at the Emergency Operations
Center. Information is also available on the website at www.state.nj.us/health.
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