New anthrax case in US

An employee of NBC in New York has tested positive for anthrax, the television network said on Friday. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Center for Disease Control are investigating.

The anthrax is not the same respiratory anthrax that killed a Florida man, NBC News said in a statement.

The employee tested positive for a cutaneous – skin – anthrax infection. The employee, a woman who was not identified, has received treatment and is responding well, the network said.

A source close to the investigation said the CDC has received a possible report of anthrax but that it is not confirmed.

CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds referred all calls to the New York City Health Department, which is investigating.

NBC said the employee is in no danger and should recover fully.

The network said it had received some suspicious mail and immediately contacted the FBI, CDC and the New York Department of Health.

"The mail was tested by these organizations, and the employee was treated by several physicians. All these tests came back negative," said the NBC statement. "However, this morning, a later test on the employee came back positive for traces of cutaneous anthrax."

NBC said it doesn't think the anthrax has spread beyond the one employee.

The New York case follows an anthrax scare in Florida, where a photo editor for a tabloid newspaper died from respiratory anthrax and a co–worker was found to have bacteria in his nostril. Trace amounts also turned up on a keyboard and in the mailroom of the building where several tabloids owned by American Media are located.

The FBI has said that there is no evidence that the anthrax cases are linked to terrorism, but a criminal investigation has been launched.