A small parcel mailed to an office of the prime minister in October contained a small amount of deadly anthrax spores, a spokesman said on Wednesday. "The security team became suspicious of the package," Akram Shahidi, a spokesman for Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Reuters. "After lab testing, it was determined that this was anthrax."
There were no reported casualties. The parcel was mailed from Jamshoro to Gilani's complaint office, which is in a building separate to where he works.
Inhaling anthrax spores, which can be produced in a minimally outfitted laboratory, can lead to fatal respiratory collapse more than 90 percent of the time if not treated promptly.
Our reporter from Islamabad adds Prime Minister House received a parcel containing suspicious powder last month, police officials said on Wednesday.
The police were investigating how and why a parcel containing anthrax was sent to the prime minister's official residence in the federal capital last month.
"The parcel containing anthrax powder was sent about 20 days ago to the Prime Minister House and after the laboratory test it was confirmed that the parcel was containing anthrax. Case was registered against unknown people," said a police official.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.