Four cases of anthrax confirmed in the US

New waves of anthrax panic rippled across the United States and most of the industrialised world yesterday as the number of people diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease rose to four, and hundreds of others continued to be tested and put on antibiotics.

The latest confirmed cases concern a seven-month-old baby in New York and a mail room worker aged 73 in Florida, who was previously believed to be in the clear. The confirmedoutbreaks, however, have been dwarfed by the deluge of calls received by emergency services. John Ashcroft, the Attorney General, said US authorities had been alerted to 2,300 cases in the past two weeks, mostly false alarms.

The appearance of sudden skin rashes and suspect packages caused offices, government buildings and diplomatic missions to be evacuated on four continents. At least three passenger planes have been grounded over false alarms.

For the moment the real menace appears to be restricted to the US, where the presence of anthrax spores has been confirmed in four areas, from Reno, Nevada to the office of the Senate majority leader in Washington. About 12 people have provisionally tested positive for exposure to the bacteria – conclusive tests take several days – and hundreds more have been prescribed antibiotics as a precaution. The FBI said there was no evidence so far of any direct link to organised terrorism.

In New York yesterday, police and health officials were scouring the offices and mail rooms of most major news organisations after confirmation of anthrax at two broadcast networks. In Washington, eight floors of a Senate office building were also under scrutiny.

In Florida, federal health officials changed their diagnosis of Ernesto Blanco, a mail room employee at the American Media tabloid newspaper empire where the first anthrax outbreak was reported. Having previously thought Mr Blanco was merely exposed to the bacteria, they now say he is suffering from the most acute form of the disease, which also killed Bob Stevens, a photo editor at The Sun, two weeks ago.

Postal inspectors said they had found traces of anthrax in a post office near the American Media building in Boca Raton. Although these traces are not believed to pose a risk, postal workers have been put on antibiotics and many now intend to wear rubber gloves to work.

In the US, panic calls were triggered by anything from a crushed peppermint on the floor of a courtroom to document packages missing a return address. Three planes have been grounded and isolated this week – in one case because a passenger opened a birthday card and confetti fell out.

In San Francisco, five people complained of burning eyes and breathing difficulties after reporting a package that appeared to leak. The leak was a spilled drink and the symptoms psychosomatic. Several people have been charged with terrorism hoaxes and security has been tightened.

Outside the US, anthrax panics caused similar havoc – an envelope containing white powder was sent to the German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, and the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia received similar letters.

Similar scares occurred at the Canadian parliament, a space research centre and the College de France in Paris, a chemical factory in Switzerland, the British consulate in Brisbane, the US consulate in Melbourne and countless other locations. No anthrax has been identified in any of these cases.

Fresh anthrax alerts hit postal centers in New Zealand and Australia , forcing their closure after workers found mail carrying unidentified white powder.