TALLAHASSEE, Oct 8: A co-worker of the Florida man who died of anthrax last week has tested positive for the extremely rare disease that experts say could be used as a biological warfare agent, officials said on Monday.

Health officials last week described the case of the man who died as an isolated one and not a biological attack. But the United States is on edge after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington and the FBI said it was investigating the source of the infections.

“Every step is being taken to quickly identify the bacteria’s source and determine how the two individuals were infected,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

“The FBI is taking this very very seriously,” Florida Governor Jeb Bush told reporters. “This is the new reality. We’ve talked about these biological and chemical agents being part of some terrorist arsenal and whether it is in this case or not, we have to be prepared for it. It needs to be a much higher priority than it has been in the past.”

State health officials said the second case, a man in his 70s whom they did not identify, tested positive but was not ill with anthrax. He was being treated with antibiotics at an undisclosed hospital.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters on Monday: “The president was informed last night and it’s one of the issues of course that the president is going to continue to monitor.”—Reuters