Relax, it could be just talcum powder

new delhi: it's just a scare. nothing for real. the anthrax bogey in the capital has so far proved to be hollow. for, all the samples of suspicious mail that were sent to the national institute of communicable diseases, the nodal centre for carrying out anthrax tests, were found to be negative. all about anthrax although the nicd announced on saturday that a round-the-clock centre for receiving and testing samples had been set up, it said so far there was no evidence of any hostile act of planting pathogens in letters and packets even as two more instances of suspicious mail from south delhi came to light.two residents of defence colony and greater kailash ii called the police after they received packets from singapore and hongkong respectively. the letters were sent to the nicd. till saturday 10 samples of suspicious letters had been sent to the nicd. most of the letters seemed to have originated from the same source in singapore. nevertheless, delhi hospitals have been asked to be on an alert. emergency staff have been asked to be on the look out for anthrax symptoms including fever and cough and promptly prescribe ciprofloxacin. and in case, the scare turns real, authorities said there were enough stocks of ciprofloxacin and penicillin -- the two drugs used for treating anthrax infections. elsewhere in the country mischief-mongers seem to have jumped into the arena countrywide to play upon the anthrax scare. in kanpur, about 10 grams of a white powder wrapped in a small envelope delivered by an anonymous person to the ramlila society office at parade sparked off a panic. the sender also put in a message on a card saying, "congratulations, welcome to the anthrax world." similarly, in vijaywada, andhra pradesh, many people have received sealed covers containing some white powder with a message inside: "this is an anthrax cover ^ be prepared for death." in kerala, when the authorities tested envelopes containing white powder sent by some unidentified persons, it turned out to be talcum powder. in mumbai, the state government ordered an investigation into the contents of two mysterious packages at the haffkine laboratory, but maharashtra's health minister digvijay khanvilkar said there was no reason for people to panic or worry about an anthrax attack. the white powdery contents are being tested. khanvilkar said even if there was some outbreak, the state machinery was well equipped to deal with the emergency. he said people should realise the difference between anthrax outbreaks in animals and those in humans. "yes, we have had an outbreak among domestic animals in baramati. but that is routine and the chances of it spreading to humans is not too high." sources said most private courier companies have asked their employees to avoid accepting us-bound packages. "but in case a big client is involved, we are expected to call up the receiver and cross-check if he/she is accepting the package or not," said a gujarat courier company official.