Case 7  CONFIRMED
Characteristics 73-year-old male, employed by America Media Inc.
Onset date September 28, 2001
Medical care date October 1, 2001
MMWR date 50 (41), Oct. 19, 2001
Location Boca Raton, Florida
Probable source One or more mailed letters or packages
Disease type Inhalational anthrax
Details Admitted October 1 to a local hospital for pneumonia. On October 5, a nasal swab was obtained from the patient that yielded a positive culture for B. anthracis. Subsequent testing revealed positive PCR tests for B. anthracis in hemorrhagic pleural fluid and reactive serologic tests. The patient was discharged on October 23, 2001.

Click for clinical details (Emerging Inf Diseases)

Click for early account of Ernesto Blanco anthrax infection (10/8/01)

Click for news account of Ernesto Blanco (10/9/01)

Click for news account of attending physician (10/26/01)

Click for news account of fellow employees (10/26/01)

Click for speculation about source of exposure (11/16/01)

Click for news account of anthrax spores found in AMI building (11/30/01)

Click for news account of Florida link with anthrax letters (12/5/01)

Click for follow-up news account of impact on AMI (1/27/02)

Click for additional follow-up of impact on AMI (2/4/02)

Click for follow-up of Ernesto Blanco (2/24/02)

Click for six-month follow-up of Ernesto Blanco (4/20/02)

Click for further clinical and personal follow-up (5/7/02)

Click for news of health follow-up of Ernesto Blanco (9/16/02)

Click for one-year health follow-up of Ernesto Blanco (10/1/02)

Click for news of one-year after death of fellow employee (10/4/02)

Click for thoughts of Ernesto Blanco after one year (11/21/02)

Click for two-year follow-up of Ernesto Blanco's illness (9/18/03)

Click for three and a half-year follow-up of Ernesto Blanco's illness (5/15/05)
Death date Not applicable