Mail handlers tested for anthrax exposure

Mail handlers tested for anthrax exposure

BY VIRGINIA MYERS KELLY AND SHAUNNA BENNETT

As the threat of and concern over anthrax spreads through the U.S. Postal Service, leaving two mail handlers from D.C.'s Brentwood facility dead of inhalation anthrax, AU Mail Services employees were tested for anthrax exposure on campus last Wednesday. Until recently, AU bulk mail was routed through the Brentwood facility, which was closed when anthrax contamination was discovered there. The employees, who work for AU's mail contractor, Pitney Bowes, were following protocol advised by D.C. and the U.S. Postal Service. Results of the tests were not known at press time Monday.

On Friday, AU administrators took a further precautionary measure by arranging for about 40 other AU employees (beyond the Pitney-Bowes group) identified as having received bulk mail from Brentwood, or handling large volume mail processing, to be taken by bus to D.C. General Hospital for doses of Cipro, the antibiotic known to fight anthrax infection. Other individuals drove to D.C. General on their own, or waited until Monday to go to Sibley Hospital, nearer the AU campus, for both testing and antibiotics provided at AU's expense. Approximately 13 offices have individuals who qualify for testing, including the Fulfillment Center, where all incoming undergraduate applications and other enrollment materials are processed.

To find out if you qualify for testing or antibiotic distribution, contact your supervisor. When individuals go for testing, they must show a valid AU ID card.

In addition to taking care of individuals concerned about anthrax exposure, AU is following Center for Disease Control advice regarding necessity and method, as administrators look into the possibility of testing AU's mail facilities.

Concerned individuals not identified as high-volume mail handlers may call their health care providers at either Blue Cross Blue Shield or Kaiser (using the phone number on the back of the membership card) and talk to professionals at those organizations about risk of exposure. If risk is determined, testing and appropriate antibiotics should be provided, with the usual copay required. Risk is usually determined by the amount of exposure to potentially contaminated mail.

The flurry of activity around prevention and testing for anthrax at AU seems to have been prompted by two factors: an open informational meeting on Thursday with AU's health sciences consultant, Butch Wardlaw, showed great concern and interest in testing among those who handle mail on campus, and Washington, D.C., officials announced last week that individuals working for institutions handling large amounts of mail from Brentwood should go to D.C. General for a 10-day supply of Cipro. Testing was not performed there.

D.C. officials have not contacted AU to advise administrators on how to protect their workers against anthrax, but administrators here decided to facilitate access to antibiotics and testing regardless. Testing results are usually available in 24 to 72 hours. The incubation period for anthrax is one to seven days, after which the infection is more difficult to arrest.

Throughout changing circumstances, AU officials have provided electronic mail (Today@AU) and memos from AU President Benjamin Ladner addressing mail processing and emergency procedures. For current updates, see the president's office Web site statements, at <www.american.edu/president/statements/default.html>.

"We are taking all precautions," said Siraaj Abdullah, manager of AU's Mail Services, last Wednesday. "We have in place Post Office rules and regulations, we are screening packages, and we have not seen anything unusual." Some workers have chosen to wear gloves and masks, and the testing and Cipro were provided "as a safety precaution and for peace of mind," said Abdullah.

Since Oct. 15, AU's Public Safety office has received about two calls or walk-ins a day concerning suspicious mail from throughout the AU campus, according to Colleen Carson-Merkl, director of Public Safety. "All have been no threat or normal mail," she said.

"Our department has had to put together a new protocol on how we handle these," said Carson-Merkl. Based on information from other universities, the Center for Disease Control, and the D.C. Fire Department, a dispatcher creates a checklist of information from each caller. From the list, an occurrence is classified on a spectrum of "no threat" to dangerous.

"For those meeting most of the criteria, Public Safety contacts the D.C. Fire Department and the D.C. Hazardous Materials Team," said Carson-Merkl. On the two occasions when these agencies were called to AU, "We did have tremendous response from the emergency response teams," she said.

"It is important to understand, if you feel mail is suspicious, it should be checked out," she said. "It is not necessary to evacuate until it has been determined to be a problem."
Public Safety has provided mail information sessions at the main mailroom in the lower level of Letts Hall, at the Washington College of Law, in Human Resources, and to front desk personnel in all the residence halls.