| Situation Update No. 2 Ref.no.: BH-20091227-24331-USA
Situation Update No. 2
On 2009-12-29 at 04:55:50 [UTC]
Event: Biological Hazard
Location: USA State of New Hampshire Concord Number of Infected: 1 person(s)
Situation: Two African drums stored at the United Campus Ministry in Durham have tested positive for anthrax, the state confirmed yesterday as it continues to investigate the nation's first known case of gastrointestinal anthrax. The young woman with the disease, who attended a drum circle at the center, remains in critical condition, state Public Health Director Jose Montero said. The state ordered the ministry, which serves but is not part of the University of New Hampshire, closed for further testing. As many as 30 drums are stored at the 15 Mill Road building. Montero continues to ask drum owners who attended the drum circle events since October to call his office for possible drum tests. The state lab has sent some samples, including DNA samples, for further testing at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. About a half-dozen attendees have contacted the state health officials since the anthrax case was announced Saturday, when more than 50 people may have attended the most recent drum circle. Montero said the unidentified Strafford County woman brought her own drum, which had a synthetic covering and not one of animal skin typically used on an African drum. Investigators have not yet confirmed that the two drums are the source of anthrax exposure. Technicians are still trying to match strains between the patient and the drums. They are probing other possible sources of contamination, including soil, animal products, and food possibly ingested by the woman, who is in an undisclosed, out-of-state hospital. "We have not yet been able to confirm that the drums are the cause of the patient's illness and we are continuing to follow up many leads," Montero said. "Anthrax is not an illness that you can catch from someone else." Montero and state Health and Human Services Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas emphasized that there is no risk to the public. The state Division of Public Health has increased surveillance at hospitals and health care providers across the state.
It is possible tests may never fully identify the point of infection transmission, according to Montero. Investigators are interviewing the woman's family and her friends to try to identify eating habits and any other link for possible point of transmission. Samples at the United Campus Ministry building were collected over the weekend by the New Hampshire National Guard, state Department of Environmental Services, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Additional samples will be collected and tested. Anthrax is caused by a spore that is ingested, inhaled or enters the body through a cut in the skin. Gastrointestinal anthrax, an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract, has an incubation period of three to 60 days. Symptoms include nausea, fever and abdominal pain, vomiting of blood and severe diarrhea. The African drum connection is a source under investigation after contaminated animal hides on drums were involved in anthrax infections in New York City in 2006 and in two Connecticut residents in 2007. Those cases were types of inhalation anthrax and cutaneous anthrax, not GI anthrax, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Julie Corey of Village Drum Shop in Hooksett, who facilitated the most recent drum circle at the United Campus Ministry, said she has been in touch with the state and with the woman's family. Corey and the Rev. Larry Brickner-Wood, executive director of the United Campus Ministry, were alerted to the anthrax case and possible connection by investigators on Christmas eve. "Obviously I'm very upset about the situation," said Corey, who knows the woman and her family. "We need to pray for her and pray that she gets through this." Brickner-Wood said he has also reached out to participants of recent drum circles. He said his thoughts and prayers go out to the young woman and her family. "It's terrible and scary and all that," he said. There have been only 11 cases of naturally occurring anthrax in the country since 1957. The last anthrax cases in New Hampshire were nine involving employees at a textile mill in Manchester. |
