KEN SAKAMOTO / KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM
At the Hawaii Department of Health Laboratory Facility
yesterday, Rebecca Sciulli, a bioterrorism microbiologist,
inspected a specimen under a microscope. She helps
investigate suspicious packages for the presence of
dangerous substances, including anthrax.

Isle laboratory awaits
anthrax test results

More than 90 pieces of mail
have been brought in for testing
in the past two weeks

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By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

Of the more than 90 pieces of mail sent to a state laboratory for anthrax testing in the past two weeks only one appears potentially threatening.

A letter addressed to a "Miss Cherry Blossoms" contained some powder and a white piece of paper with "Bin Laden" printed in large letters.

State microbiologists received the letter on Tuesday. Test results on whether or not the letter contained biological agents, such as anthrax, are expected today, said Rebecca Sciulli, state Bioterrorism Response Laboratory Coordinator.

The state laboratory, on the grounds of the old Waimano Training School and Hospital in Pearl City, receives unopened letters or packages not deemed an immediate threat.

Sciulli and Susan Naka are the only two state microbiologists testing the suspicious packages sent to the state laboratory. They use what they call traditional microbiology to test for anthrax and other biological agents.

KEN SAKAMOTO / KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM
At the state Department of Health Laboratory Facility
yesterday, quality assurance training coordinator Susan
Naka demonmonstrated how a letter is opened inside a
Biological Safety Cabinet to examine contents
for anthrax.

The method includes trying to grow a culture from the suspected sample substance then examining it under a microscope to see if there is a growth. If there is no growth after 24 hours, the test is negative.

If there is a growth, they repeat the process for confirmation then try to identify the agent. Results take 48 to 72 hours.

For packages deemed an immediate threat, the Navy laboratory at Pearl Harbor uses DNA testing that yields results in a few hours.

About half of the items sent to the state laboratory have been tested. All results have come back negative. The rest of the suspicious packages were not tested because they were obviously regular mail, Sciulli said.

Some of the items in packages sent to the state laboratory include gold earrings, silver bracelets, men's shoes and luggage.

One envelope mailed to the state Department of Agriculture contained black sand taken from Hawaii that the sender was returning to avoid future bad luck.

The items will eventually be returned to the U.S. Postal Service for re-delivery to the addressee.

So far only two people in Hawaii have been tested for exposure to anthrax. One was a tourist from Florida and the other was a boy who was thought to have been exposed at the headquarters of a tabloid magazine on the mainland, Sciulli said. Both tests proved negative.

Sciulli was hired by the state Department of Health two years ago to coordinate the state's response to a bioterrorism attack. The job entails working with state and county civil defense agencies and with the state's nine private clinical laboratories.

She and Naka are trained clinical microbiologists trained to do tests for anthrax and other biological agents but they did not expect to be conducting so many.

The state laboratory receives an average of seven to 11 suspicious letters or packages a day, seven days a week.