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Acting
Commissioner Dr. George T. DiFerdinando Jr. said last evening at
a town hall meeting in Ewing Township that he is recommending that
postal workers at the Carteret Postal Facility begin a 10-day course
of antibiotics as a precaution while the criminal and health investigation
of the disease continues.
"We
are making this recommendation because the Carteret Postal Facility
is the receiving station for the mail coming from the Route 130
Mail Processing Facility in Hamilton Township to Washington, DC
and New York," said Dr. DiFerdinando. "With all of the
information we have at this point, we believe that the Senate, NBC
News and New York Post letters transferred through this facility
before going onto Washington, DC and New York."
Approximately
100 full-time and temporary workers are employed at Carteret. All
workers were instructed to visit the United States Postal Service
contract physician today to receive their 10-day supply of antibiotics.
Dr.
DiFerdinando also said that environmental samples were taken on
Wednesday at the Carteret facility. The results of the sampling,
which included swipe and vacuum samples throughout the facility,
are expected in the next few days.
"Because
of the way the mail is handled in this facility, we believe that
it is unlikely that the workers were exposed to anthrax," said
Dr. DiFerdinando. "However, we are taking these measures simply
as a precaution and to ensure that there is no contamination in
the facility."
The
Department has established a bioterrorism phone line at the Emergency
Operations Center at 609-538-6030 that is open between 8 am and
11 pm until further notice. Since the phone line opened on October
12, 2001, about 1,500 calls have been received. From 11 p.m. to
8 a.m., the number is 609-392-2020. Information is also available
on the website at www.state.nj.us/health.
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