'Deadly' anthrax strain spreads to New Jersey

The anthrax scare among postal workers in the United States spread from Washington, where two workers are already dead, to New Jersey today where a female post employee is seriously ill in hospital with the potentially deadly respiratory form of the disease

The woman works at the building which handled the anthrax-infected mail which was delivered to the US Senate and NBC newscaster Tom Brokaw.

Health authorities in Washington confirmed that the two postal workers who died had indeed contracted inhaled anthrax. Up to a dozen others were feared to have contracted this, the most dangerous form of the disease.

Questions were also being asked about why it had taken the US Post Offfice authorities so long to start an investigation at the Washington office.