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Anthrax Panic Spreads in Southeast Asia
JAKARTA, Oct 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Southeast Asia on Wednesday joined the world panic on possible outbreaks of anthrax in the region when several countries decided to step up security in response to global concern over bio-terrorism.
Fears over bio-terrorism have been widespread following unsettling reports of anthrax scares in three U.S. states, including the death of one man in Florida last week.
In Australia, 16 buildings, including the U.S. and British consulates, were hit by anthrax scares after receiving suspicious letters, all later found to be hoaxes.
Thailand's Public Health Minister, Sudarat Keyuraphan, ensured the public that Thailand was well prepared, believing the chance of a biological or chemical attack was remote.
"There's no need for Thai people to worry since Thailand is not involved in the U.S.-Afghanistan conflict," she said.
Wallop Thainua, head of the Communicable Diseases Control Department, told the meeting his agency on Monday received a report that a suspicious letter with a "white powdery substance'' had been found by a local resident in Chon Buri.
Another senior official at the Department disclosed there had been another case of a suspicious letter reported from Samut Prakan, which contained a powder that smelled like baby talcum.
"It is possible more hoaxes may occur under the current situation, and we don't want the public to panic," Wallop said.
A chemical scare hit a school in Brunei Tuesday, spreading fears a bio-chemical attack took place.
But after the initial confusion, it was found that a potpourri of chemicals spilled at the Sekolah Menengah Sayidina Abu Bakar's science laboratory in the Brunei capital was the cause of the scare.
Security scans to be done on parcels
Pos Malaysia, the country's postal service, and the Customs Department in Kuala Lumpur have been told to conduct security scans on inbound and outbound parcels, said Deputy Energy, Telecommunication and Multimedia Minister Tan Chai Ho.
The instruction was given following an incident in which a letter suspected of carrying anthrax was sent to a Microsoft Corporation branch in Reno, Nevada, in the United States.
The letter was said to have been sent from Malaysia, but Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Mohamed Jamil Johari, confirmed the letter was re-routed to the United States after it was not delivered to its addressee in Malaysia because the address could not be located.
Tan said Pos Malaysia had contacted the United States Postal Service seeking more information but had yet to receive any reply.
In the Philippines, the fallout from the anthrax scare sweeping the United States has reached the country.
Several people in Nueva Ecija, Cebu and General Santos City reported a suspicious-looking package from abroad Wednesday.
A family of four in Cabanatuan sought medical attention Wednesday morning after a powdery substance suspected to be tainted with anthrax virus burst out of a letter from a relative in Singapore.
In General Santos City, a resident sought the help of an ABS-CBN News team after receiving a letter from Singapore addressed to him and several prominent world leaders.
A similar incident was reported in Naga City, Camarines Sur, earlier this week.
A family in Cebu reported a similar experience when a copy of the magazine Economist from Singapore was left in their mailbox together with a subscriber's copy of
Newsweek.
Six other suspicious letters received by Cebu City residents have been sent to the Department of Health (DOH) main office in Manila for testing.
Physician Florentino Juan Jr. of Dr. Paulino Garcia Hospital in Cabanatuan City said the four members of the unnamed family were given antibiotics and placed under observation.
"They have not manifested any of the classic symptoms of anthrax, so far, but it doesn't mean that they have not possibly been exposed to the bacteria," Juan said.
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
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