Drum maker inhales anthrax spores

<p>A New York City drum maker apparently contracted anthrax spores from working with African animal skins, federal health officials said Wednesday.</p><p>The man, 44, is in fair condition in a hospital in Sayre, Pa., according Dr. Lisa Rotz, a medical epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official.</p><p>The man grew ill last week during a business trip to Pennsylvania, and was diagnosed with anthrax. Investigators learned from interviews with the man and his wife that he had worked with animal skins purchased in Africa.</p><p>Health officials believe he may have inhaled the spores in a process that includes soaking the hides, stretching them and scraping them to remove hair, Rotz said.</p><p>Investigators are getting samples of the hides to test them for spores, she said.</p><p>Anthrax is a bacterial disease that usually affects the skin and is found in cattle. Anthrax spores can be inhaled as well, and one risk is industrial processes such as tanning hides and processing wool or bone.</p><p>But such an occurrence is rare. The last U.S. case of inhalation anthrax not linked to terrorism occurred in 1976. The victim made wool rugs as a hobby, Rotz said.</p><p>In 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to journalists and Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy. At least four people, including two postal workers and a photo editor, died from exposure to those letters, and more than a dozen others became ill.</p>

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