In the most serious anthrax scare at Penn thus far, emergency officials removed a letter from the McNeil Building yesterday that may have come in contact with the deadly bacterium at its point of origin in Washington.
The potentially contaminated letter, received at the University on Monday, was sent from a Department of Agriculture facility where traces of anthrax have been found.
Shortly before 2 p.m. yesterday, University Police responded to the first floor of the McNeil Building, located at 3718 Locust Walk, to investigate the letter. The office was closed for about half an hour.
The letter has been sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Health for testing.
"If there is a positive result, we'll take the necessary steps," Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said.
According to Rush, the letter became a source of concern following a call from the Department of Agriculture.
Agriculture officials called the McNeil mailroom yesterday after small amounts of anthrax spores were detected in the mailroom of the department's Washington research building, where the letter originated.
A McNeil mailroom employee called University Police shortly after receiving the department's call.
"Within minutes, the police department's rapid assessment team arrived and we called the Philadelphia Police Department's rapid assessment team," Rush said. "Immediately the letter was bagged and was sent to the state laboratory."
Rush said the letter will be tested for anthrax contamination, but could not offer an estimate of when the results would arrive.
"They're not able to say how long it will take," Rush said, explaining that there have been close to 700 similar cases in the Philadelphia area since Sept. 11. "Clearly they're doing it as quickly as possible."
Two mailroom employees who came in contact with the letter were interviewed by representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and will be closely monitored for any changes in condition, Rush said.
According to Rush, after consultation with doctors at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the decision was made to not administer precautionary antibiotics to the two mailroom employees, a step that has been taken in other possible anthrax cases in the United States.
"We consulted with the physicians and there is nothing that brings [the incident] to that level of concern," Rush said.
Concerns over anthrax contamination, particularly so-called "cross-contamination," were raised to a new level yesterday when a 61-year-old New York City hospital employee died from the inhalation form of anthrax.
The woman's case has worried investigators because she had no connection to the U.S. Postal Service, government or media, which have been the targets in all previous anthrax attacks.
Her case has raised the possibility that anthrax letters have contaminated other mail.
Anthony Fauci, a doctor with the National Institutes of Health, said that worries about cross-contamination -- anthrax spores sticking to other pieces of mail at postal facilities -- have grown with the New York woman's case and that of a 51-year-old accountant in New Jersey who tested positive for the skin version of the disease.
"Did they get infected from a piece of mail that went to their home?" Fauci said at the White House yesterday. "That is being intensively investigated right now."
With concerns of cross-contamination rising, the vulnerability of the Penn community to anthrax exposure has prompted University Police to revise the training of its officers.
"We are having all supervisors and officers in the very near future receive updated training on critical incident response and weapons of mass destruction," Police Chief Tom Rambo said. "We need to update our training because situations are changing and new ways of handling things are coming up."
Since Sept. 11, University Police have responded to 45 calls of suspicious packages.
"Approximately eight times the Philadelphia rapid assessment team responded to Penn," Rambo said. "And in an additional four incidents, the Philadelphia ordinance disposal unit came out."
According to Janet Wetherill, manager of Penn's mail service, risk of anthrax exposure to her department's employees had already been minimized prior to the latest scare.
"All employees have been given latex gloves and are being told to wash their hands frequently with warm water for over a minute," Wetherill said.
According to Wetherill, the mail service, which is responsible for the distribution of mail to campus buildings, is constantly monitoring its employees for any signs of anthrax exposure.
"If any one of my people gets sick, they will be tracked and will be reported to health officials," Wetherill said.
All University mail first goes through the U.S. Postal Service's sorting center at 30th and Market streets.
"I know [postal investigators] have gone over and inspected all equipment over at 30th Street," Wetherill said.
On Monday, the Postal Service announced that it had instituted new measures to protect the public and its employees.
"The Postal Service is purchasing electron beam systems and services to sanitize mail," a Postal Service statement said. "The equipment will be used in select areas to kill any biological agent, including anthrax, inside or outside mail items."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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