Case 11 CONFIRMED
Characteristics 56-year-old female, employed as postal worker
Onset date October 14, 2001
Medical care date October 19, 2001
MMWR date 50 (42), Oct. 26, 2001; 50 (43), Nov. 2, 2001
Location Hamilton Township mail center, New Jersey
Probable source Daschle or Leahy letters postmarked October 9
Disease type Inhalational anthrax
Details On October 14, the second suspected case occurred in a 56-year-old female postal worker who sought medical care for fever, diarrhea, and vomiting at a local hospital. On October 19, the patient was admitted to the hospital with chills, dry cough, and pleuritic chest pain. A chest radiograph showed a small right infiltrate and bilateral effusions, but no evidence of a widened mediastinum. The next day, her respiratory status and pleural effusions worsened. A chest computerized tomography (CT) showed an enlarged mediastinal and cervical lymph nodes without parenchymal disease. The pleural fluid was positive for B. anthracis by PCR. Bilateral pleural effusions have complicated the patient's hospital course and she continues to require supplemental oxygen.

Inhalational anthrax was confirmed in a 56-year-old female postal worker who initially was classified as a suspected case-patient. Her pleural fluid was positive for B. anthracis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a pleural biopsy was positive for B. anthracis by IHC staining (was discharged Nov. 5, 2001)

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Click for news account of Norma Wallace (11/8/01)

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Click for six-month follow-up of Norma Wallace (4/20/02)

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Click for one-year follow-up of Norma Wallace (10/14/02)

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Death date Not applicable