'No guarantee' US mail is safe

The US Postmaster General has warned Americans that there can be no guarantee that their post is safe, as confirmed cases of anthrax increase in the country.

"We're asking people to handle their mail very carefully," John Potter told ABC television. "There are no guarantees that mail is safe."

However he said there were very few incidents of anthrax in the mail.

His warning followed an announcement that anthrax spores had been found at an office which handles post for the White House.

It also followed a confirmation that the deaths of two postal workers who worked in a Washington facility had been caused by anthrax.