The health ministry has posted a Japanese version of U.S. guidelines for handling anthrax threats on its Web site after one person was killed and several others exposed to the fatal disease in the United States earlier this month, ministry officials said Monday.
The advisory is a translation of guidelines drawn up by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was posted Friday, officials of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
The Japanese version of the advisory can be found on the ministry's Web site at www.mhlw.go.jp while the English version can be viewed at the CDC's Web site at www.bt.cdc.gov Several U.S. media companies have recently received letters containing powdery substances that, in some cases, have left their handlers infected with anthrax. A Florida man died after inhaling anthrax spores contained in a letter sent to American Media Inc., a publisher of several tabloids. The advisory notes that anthrax is not contagious and calls for the recipient of a suspicious letter or package not to panic. It also contains specific guidelines for handling the biological agent in various hypothetical situations.