Officials call for calm on anthrax

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 9:45 a.m.

It could be powdered sugar from your co-worker's doughnut. Or it could be coffee creamer. Or construction dust. Or laundry detergent. It could be anthrax.

So far in Southern Nevada it has been everything but the dreaded anthrax bacteria, which has fueled fears across the nation regarding a possible link to biological terrorism.

Clark County Sheriff Jerry Keller on Wednesday asked valley residents to stay calm when presented with mysterious packages, envelopes and white powders.

Wednesday's meeting, which included the sheriff's office, fire department and county health district officials, was called to ease public concerns regarding the nationwide anthrax scare.

"We understand people's anxieties and share their concerns," Keller said, adding that his department has received at least 70 calls from people fearful of possible exposure to anthrax.

Keller asked residents to call the non-emergency 311 information line to report anthrax-related suspicions, rather than 911. The 311 operators have been instructed to ask a series of questions to determine potential risk, Keller said. If the threat is deemed credible, a police officer and a firefighter will respond to evaluate the situation, he said.

The sheriff said he has met with the security chiefs of the area's major hotels and casinos and reminded them of their important role as "first responders."

"We have no information that we're a target of any sort, but we have to be ever vigilant," he said.

Crank calls, hoaxes or pranks involving threats of anthrax or other potential terrorism are federal crimes and will be investigated as such, Keller said.

"This is not a time to be yelling 'fire' in the theater or saying 'bomb' on the airplane," Keller said.

Officials for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said Wednesday that a suspicious powder collected at a Microsoft office in Reno by the Nevada Health Division did not contain anthrax. State officials had reported a positive test prior to sending the results to the CDC.

Clark County's chief health officer, Dr. Donald Kwalick, said Wednesday the county is well prepared for a possible outbreak of anthrax, and there is no shortage of Cipro, a powerful antibiotic used to treat several kinds of bacterial infections, including anthrax. The CDC also has stockpiles of the drug, which can be delivered to any location within 12 hours, he said.

Reports from across the country of people demanding prescriptions for Cipro from their doctors either to stockpile the drug or take it as a preventive measure are alarming, Kwalick said. If the drug is taken indiscriminately, he said, drug-resistant strains of bacteria will develop.