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ANTHRAX VICTIM'S LONG WAIT FOR DIAGNOSIS |
Last Updated 20 Nov 2002 |
Source: The Observer, October 21, 2001. Anthrax victim's long wait for diagnosis Johanna Huden (case 1), an assistant at the New York Post, emerged as the fourth person in the city to be infected by anthrax spores. But she was back at work even before the diagnosis was made - antibiotics prescribed for a black swelling on her finger which she thought was caused by a cat scratch may have cleared the infection. Writing in the newspaper, Huden, 30, said: 'When you work for a newspaper, you're part of the story, but not too close. This morning I am the story... I'm a victim of germ warfare. Anthrax antibodies are in my blood. Thanks, Osama.' Huden said that five weeks ago she noticed an itchy red bump on the middle finger of her right hand, which became swollen and then broke open and seeped fluid, prompting her to put a plaster on it. 'Later, when I removed the Band-Aid after a long day at work, an ulcer had formed that was jet black and dry in the middle,' she said. 'Soon the finger had swollen severely, with the black area spreading down around the sides. I went to a walk-in clinic that Saturday and when I removed the Band-Aid, the doctor looked shocked. He said, "This is a very serious infection. If you waited any longer, you'd be in hospital getting intravenous antibiotics".' Two days later, feeling feverish, she went to a casualty ward and it was decided to cut the infected area away. 'My whole hand was wrapped in gauze with the affected finger - the third finger on the right hand - sticking straight up. "Is that for Osama?" asked a police officer. We laughed. Little did he know. Or me, for that matter. But it was no laughing matter.' Days later, news broke that anthrax had been diagnosed in another woman in New York, an assistant to NBC newsreader Tom Brokaw, and Huden realised she had the same symptoms. 'I had a chest X-ray, and a nasal swab and a biopsy was taken directly from my wound. My doctor put me on Cipro, just in case, and I was sent home to await test results,' she said. The preliminary test results were negative. 'But the guy from the Centres for Disease Control said that since I'd been on antibiotics for so long, he had guessed the biopsy would be negative,' she said. 'Then they needed more blood: the original samples had been compromised. Then I waited some more. My worst fear was that there would be no diagnosis - that I would be left wondering for ever. 'But then, Thursday night, the call came. Yes, I had anthrax.' |