Postal Service Delays Anthrax Detection Test
A 14-city test of a new anthrax detection system planned for Monday is being postponed, the Postal Service said.
The system, which uses rapid DNA testing to detect the germs, was developed in the wake of the anthrax-by-mail attacks in the fall of 2001 that killed five people and sickened many more.
The 30-day test had been scheduled after the system was tried out in Baltimore for several months.
However, Postal Service president Azeezaly Jaffer said Friday that more time was needed to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local authorities in the test cities to develop coordinated guidelines for responding to the test results.
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