ROME, Jan 21: Employees at an Italian subsidiary of US multinational Pharmacia and Upjohn were given antibiotics against anthrax following a weekend scare at the plant, the company said on Monday.

The scare followed a routine quality control check on Friday which uncovered the presence of bacteria in raw material for an anti-cholesterol drug at the company’s plant in Ascoli, central Italy.

A spokesman said it immediately provided antibiotics to workers at the plant, while it awaits the results of analysis by a government laboratory, expected Wednesday.

“We have performed over the weekend our own analysis, and it shows it’s not anthrax,” a spokesman said.—AFP