LAHORE, Nov 21: The directorate-general of health services has directed the district health officers to establish anthrax cells in their districts in view of the bio-terrorism threat.

The office has so far received 20 samples, 15 from Lahore alone, which have all been found by the Bacteriology Department of the Institute of Public Health to be a hoax.

The DGHS has also notified the district health officers, except in Lahore, as the people responsible for collecting suspect sending them to the pathology department of the nearest medical college. In Lahore, the deputy district health officer will be responsible for collection of such samples. He will send them to the Bacteriology Department.

The directorate has also issued instructions for the Health Department officials and the general public to take safety measures in case a ‘suspicious’ packet is received.

The DG says anthrax cannot spread from person to person. Only those exposed to spores get sick. The spores remain airborne and fall on the ground after travelling a distance depending upon the weather. “Under circumstances of maximum survival and persistence the anthrax spores can be fully dispersed within a day at the most,” he said.

The DG said ‘suspicious’ mail received in any office should be handled carefully and must not be opened or shaken or examined closely. If a person receives a suspicious letter, parcel or a packet, he said, it should be isolated and all items in contact with it should be placed in plastic bags and sent to the health authorities. The DG has also advised that anybody coming in contact with such suspicious powder should immediately take a shower and clean the body with soap. Such a person should also take the prescribed medicine.

Should the suspicious powder be spilled on to a surface, the directorate has advised, one should not try to clean it. Instead, it should be immediately covered.

All the people in the affected room should leave immediately and the doors and windows should be closed. Fans and ventilation units in the room should also be turned off. The anthrax cell in the directorate should be informed and the people involved listed.