RIYADH, 24 October — A parcel suspected of containing anthrax spores arrived at one of the capital’s post offices yesterday, triggering fears about the introduction of the deadly virus into the Kingdom.
The parcel, which was sent from Indonesia, was received by the Rowda Post Office, east of Riyadh, at 2.00 p.m. A security panel is analyzing the package.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily, Abdullah Al-Ajaji, acting director general of the post offices, refused to comment on the parcel before tests on it are completed. He added that the results of the tests would be announced officially.
This is the first time a suspected anthrax case has been reported in the Gulf region.
The new anthrax scare in Riyadh comes after anthrax-in-the-mail attacks sent shock waves in the United States and many other countries.
Thousands of Washington’s postal employees have been tested for the bacteria after two workers at the city’s main mail-sorting plant died of what was believed to be anthrax.
The suspected parcel in Riyadh is being scrutinized by a panel comprising representatives of the Health Ministry’s preventive medicine department, customs, the civil defense department, the postal department and a number of security agencies.
"The parcel will undergo laboratory tests to see whether the material it contained poses any danger," the sources said.
The sources disclosed that no cases of anthrax have so far been reported in the Kingdom and said strict precautionary measures would be taken to protect postal workers from exposure to the potentially deadly virus.
Abdul Rahman Al-Jassas, director of post offices in the Riyadh region, pointed out the possible dangers posed by anthrax-contaminated mail.
"Things taking place in other parts of the world could happen in Saudi Arabia as well," he said.
Jassas urged the public to be cautious about suspected mail, which does not have a return address. The postal department has been placed on extreme alert and has been provided advanced equipment to monitor suspicious incoming mail.
