Many individuals, businesses and facilities within the State of Montana have received suspicious letters and packages. Most have been ordinary bulk mail, ordered items dropped shipped from a secondary source; some have contained suspicious powdery agents.

Anthrax organisms can cause infection in the skin, gastrointestinal system, or the lungs. To do, so the organism must be rubbed into abraded skin, swallowed, or inhaled as a fine, aerosolized mist. Disease can be prevented after exposure to the anthrax spores by early treatment with the appropriate antibiotics. Anthrax is not spread from one person to another person.

For anthrax to be effective as a covert agent, it must be aerosolized into very small particles. This is difficult to do, and requires a great deal of technical skill and special equipment. If these small particles are inhaled, life-threatening lung infection can occur, but prompt recognition and treatment are effective.

Suspicious Envelope or Package

Use the following information to determine if an envelope/package has suspicious markings:

• No Return Address
• Badly Typed or Written
• Restrictive Markings
• Protruding Wires
• Foreign Country Mail
• Lopsided or Uneven
• Excessive Postage
• Rigid or Bulky
• Misspelled Words
• Strange Odor
• Addressed to Title Only
• Wrong Title with Name
• Incorrect Title
• Excessive Tape or String
• Oily Stains, Discolorations,
• Postmark Does Not Match
• Crystallization on Wrapper

If you feel the envelope or package is suspicious:

• Do not shake, open or empty the contents of any suspicious envelope or package.
• Do not carry the envelope or package, show it to others or allow others to hand it.
• Put the envelope/package on a stable surface.  Do not sniff, touch, taste or look closely at the envelope/package or any contents that spilled from it. 
•  Place the envelope or package in a plastic bag or some other type of container to prevent leakage of contents, when no container is available; cover the envelope or package with anything (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.), and do not remove this cover!
• Alert others in the area about the suspicious envelope or package.
• Leave the room and close the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).  If possible, shut off ventilation systems.
• Wash hands with soap and water to prevent spreading any contaminates to face.
• Make a list all people who were in the room/building area when the suspicious envelope or package was recognized. Also make a list of persons who handled the envelope or package. Include name, address, and phone number on the lists.
• Call 911 to report the suspicious envelope or package.  Inform the dispatcher if the envelope/package is:
  • Closed (Contained, No Visible Signs of Opening or Contamination)
  • Opened (Damaged, Breached, Leaking, Torn, Package Discoloration, etc )
• WAIT inside for the responding law enforcement officer(s).

• Decontamination may be necessary for those person(s) who directly handled or who may have come into contact with the package contents.
• If necessary, potentially exposed individuals should proceed calmly to the nearest showering facility or home, when instructed to do so by authorities.
• Remove clothing and personal effects and place in a sealed, air-tight triple plastic bag (i.e., trash bags). Plastic bags with personal effects should be clearly labeled with the owner’s name, address, phone number, and an inventory of the bag’s contents.
• Individuals should shower with soap and water, focusing on exposed skin surfaces such as hair, face, neck, and arms. Bleach solutions are NOT necessary and should not be used to decontaminate individuals.
• Personal effects may be held by the authorities or returned to you. In the event that your personal effects are not taken, your clothing should be routinely laundered.
• Law enforcement will have the contents of the package tested in a laboratory within 48 hours to ensure that you have not been exposed to any harmful substances. Inform the reporting parties that in the unlikely event that they have been potentially exposed to a harmful substance, they will be contacted immediately and given further instructions for appropriate medical follow-up.
• Under most circumstances, people potentially exposed to the contents of a threat letter do NOT need any further medical evaluation by a physician or treatment (i.e., medications). However, if you develop symptoms or even a mild fever (greater than 100.0^" F) before laboratory results are available, you should immediately call MT-DPHHS (Todd Damrow, 406-444-3986) and your personal physician and inform them about your potential exposure. Individuals that are uncomfortable waiting for lab results and wish to consult with their local physician should also have them contact the state health department (above) for appropriate medical information.
• The Pondera County Health Department/Sanitarian determine appropriate decontamination methods for affected areas of buildings where the envelope/package were received and determine when the affected area may be re-occupied to resume normal activities.

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