Capitol reopens after anthrax alert

There have been nine cases of anthrax so far in the US

The US Capitol building, home to both houses of Congress, reopened on Monday after closing last week following the discovery of anthrax-infected post.

The decision to re-open came as a third American was diagnosed with the most serious form of anthrax, contracted through inhalation

The unidentified man, a Washington postal employee, was reported to be in a "serious but stable" condition, with his response in the next 24 hours said to be critical.

Anthrax victims

Washington: Postal worker (inhalation anthrax, being treated)

New Jersey: Two postal workers (skin anthrax, being treated)

Florida: Bob Stevens, 63, worked for The Sun newspaper (inhalation anthrax, died), colleague Ernesto Blanco, 73 (inhalation anthrax, being treated)

New York (all being treated for skin anthrax): Claire Fletcher, 27, assistant to CBS newsreader Dan Rather, Erin O'Connor, 38, assistant to NBC newsreader Tom Brokaw, Johanna Huden, 30, assistant at New York Post, unnamed seven-month-old baby, the son of an ABC producer

He is the ninth person confirmed to have contracted anthrax since infected packages began arriving in media companies and government buildings in Florida, New York and Washington.

Six of the victims have been exposed through the skin, a less serious form of the disease.

The US House of Representatives and Senate will reconvene for debate on Tuesday, although congressional buildings near the Capitol will remain closed until health officials deem them anthrax-free.

Capitol Police spokesman Dan Nichols said that the country's lawmaking abilities would not be cowed by the threat of biological attack.

"What this means is that the legislative business of the nation continues," he said.

Caution

Senate majority leader Tom Daschle was more cautious, saying the opening of Congress would depend on assurances from health officials that the building was safe for government workers.

"We want to ensure that democracy goes on, but we're going to protect our staff," Mr Daschle told ABC news in America. "We're going to try to protect the public as well."

We want to ensure that democracy goes on, but we're going to protect our staff

Senate majority leader Tom Daschle

Experts have been inspecting the US Capitol and three Senate office buildings, in addition to the underground system linking the buildings, since the discovery of anthrax-infected post last week.

Anthrax spores were found in a mail processing room in the House of Representatives after a letter sent to Mr Daschle was found to contain the bacteria.

At present 40 people, including 28 in Washington, are known to have been exposed to the bacteria and one postal worker has developed the disease.

More than 2,000 employees at the Brentwood mail centre in Washington, where the sick man works, and 150 at a mail centre near Baltimore-Washington International Airport, where he also worked, are being tested and given treatment.

Five other Washington postal workers have symptoms consistent with anthrax and at least two of them are in hospital, city health department spokesman Jack Pannell said.

One unnamed postal worker is described as 'gravely ill' in hospital

Health officials are awaiting the test results.

The only person to die from anthrax during the scare - a Florida newspaper journalist - had the inhalation form of the disease, though it was not diagnosed as early as that of the postal worker.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed earlier that it had tracked two anthrax-bearing letters to a post office sorting box in New Jersey.

Anthrax match

US Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge said the strain of anthrax used in the attacks on US media companies and the Senate appeared to be the same.

All three major TV networks in New York City, the Capitol Hill complex in Washington and a tabloid newspaper company in Florida are now officially sites of anthrax infection.

The US is offering $1m for information on who is behind the anthrax attacks, FBI director Robert Mueller said.

The US postal service is sending cards to every home and business - 147 million addresses - telling people how to deal with suspicious post.

Health authorities and emergency services in New York have complained of being swamped by nervous members of the public demanding nasal swabs and doctors were urged not to prescribe the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin - used to treat anthrax - without good medical reason.

The drug's main manufacturer, Bayer, announced it would treble production.