Second Anthrax Case Found in Fla.
Victim's Co-Worker Infected; FBI Launches Massive Probe As Va. Monitors a Third Man

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 9, 2001; Page A01

A co-worker of a Florida man who died on Friday from a rare form of anthrax has tested positive for infection with the anthrax bacterium, a discovery that has triggered a massive FBI investigation into how the two highly unusual events could have occurred in such close proximity.

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In Virginia, officials said last night that they were monitoring a possible case of anthrax in a Northern Virginia man whose job may have brought him into contact with the company where the other two men worked.

State and local officials said the Prince William County man entered the emergency room of Prince William Hospital in Manassas yesterday complaining of flu-like symptoms. Medical personnel on the scene responded quickly by performing tests to determine whether he had anthrax, meningitis or another disease, officials said.

Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were also on the scene and monitored the preliminary investigation. A germ culture from the man was transported last night by a State Police trooper from Prince William County to a state government laboratory in Richmond, officials said.

"The state government was notified and we are following our established procedures," said M. Boyd Marcus Jr., chief of staff for Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R). "We cannot confirm at this point whether he has developed anthrax or not."
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