Volume 8, Number 10—October 2002
THEME ISSUE
Bioterrorism-related Anthrax
Bioterrorism-related Anthrax
Inhalational Anthrax Outbreak among Postal Workers, Washington, D.C., 2001
, and members of the WashingtonD.C.Anthrax Response Team1Table 2
Comparison of characteristics and potential exposures among case-patients and survey participants from the Washington, D.C., Processing and Distribution Centera
| Characteristics and potential exposures | Cases (n=4) N (%) | Participants (n=214) N (%) | OR (95% CI) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | ||||
| Median years of age (range) | 56 (47–56) | 49 (25–71) | 0.31 | |
| Underlying medical conditions | ||||
| Any underlying condition | 2 (50) | 51 (24) | 3.2 (0.44 to 23.3) | 0.23 |
| Chronic lung diseaseb | 1 (25) | 20 (9) | 3.6 (0.38 to 38.8) | 0.25 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1 (25) | 18 (8) | 3.6 (0.38 to 38.8) | 0.25 |
| Heart disease | 0 | 15 (7) | 0.58 | |
| Liver disease | 0 | 4 (2) | 0.78 | |
| Recent corticosteroid usec | 0 | 9 (4) | 0.78 | |
| Potential exposures | ||||
| Manually sorted mail | 3 (75) | 115 (54) | 2.6 (0.23 to 64.8) | 0.63 |
| Riffled mail | 3 (75) | 84 (39) | 4.6 (0.4 to 116.9) | 0.30 |
| Worked on sorter machine | 1 (25) | 75 (35) | 0.61 (0.02 to 6.8) | 1.00 |
| B. anthracis vaccination | 0 | 3 (1) | 1.00 | |
| Worked on 10/12/2001 | 4 (100) | 178 (83) | 0.48 | |
aOR, odds ratio. CI, confidence interval.
bChronic lung disease includes asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and obstructive lung disease.
cUse within previous 2 weeks.
1 Tracy B. Agerton , Mary-Kate Appicelli, Paul M. Arguin, Robert F. Benson, Lilah Besser, Richard Besser, George Carlone, Gerald Curtis, Megan Davies, Marvin DeBerry Jr., Catherine Dentinger, Peter Dull, Cindy Friedman, Cindy Hamlin, Leigh Ann Hawley, John Horan, Leta O. Helsel, Tami Hilger, Patricia Holder, Vincent Hsu, Debby Hurlburt, Dennis Kim, Scott E. Johnson, Molly Kellum, Han Li, Mark Long, Susan Lukacs, Trudy Messmer, Elizabeth Mothershed, Janet Pruckler, Daniel S. Schmidt, Stephanie Schwartz, Theresa Smith, Karen Stamey, Evelene Steward-Clark, Eyasu Teshale, Lanier L. Thacker, Tim Uyeki, and Dana White.
