Frequently Asked Questions

Call the Mills County Public Health Department at 712-527-9699.

Your local police department.

The Mills County Public Health Department and your physician.

Here are some things to consider when deciding if a package or letter is suspicious:

• Addressed to title only or incorrect title used
• Badly typed or handwritten
• Excessive tape or string
• Lopsided, uneven, rigid, or bulky
• Misspelled words
• No return address or restrictive markings
• Oily, discolored, crystallization on the wrapper
• Possibly from a foreign country or excessive postage
• Protruding wires
• Strange odor

Source

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Put the package or letter down, and do not further disturb it to prevent making potentially infectious aerosols.
• Do not open, taste, sniff, shake, or otherwise disturb.
• Place it inside a plastic bag if possible.
• Wash hands with soap and water.
• Seal the area off from further traffic.
• Contact the local police department to describe the object of concern.

Local law enforcement personnel will decide if the threat is credible and take appropriate action.

The Iowa Department of Public Health will contact the Mills County Public Health Department for further follow-up.

All physicians in Mills County have been provided with information in order to identify the symptoms and signs of the different types of anthrax. If you are concerned about any symptoms you are experiencing, contact your doctor and he/she can evaluate you.

If you have not been exposed, there is no need to take antibiotics in order to prevent anthrax. Antibiotics may have side effects, and the overuse of antibiotics can lead to resistant bacteria.

There is no test available that is useful to assess exposure to anthrax. If exposure were to occur, public health officials will investigate and inform people whether they have been exposed and if they need antibiotics. The blood tests or nasal swabs that you read or hear about are not useful to determine whether an individual should be treated with antibiotics. They are used only to determine the extent of exposure in a given situation.

The following are steps to prevent food-borne illnesses, including gastrointestinal anthrax. These steps should be taken regardless of any bioterrorism threat. Precautions beyond these are not required. The steps are:

• Chill - Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food, and leftovers within two hours and make sure the refrigerator is set at no higher than 40°F and that the freezer unit is set at 0°F.
• Clean - Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after food preparations. Uncooked foods such as fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed before eating.
• Cook - Foods must be heated at a high enough temperature and long enough to kill harmful bacteria. A shortlist of proper cooking temperatures are roast and steaks to 145°F, ground beef to 155°F, pork to 155°F, poultry to 165°F, and any stuffed meat to 165°F. Leftovers should be reheated to 165°F.
• Separate - Keep raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood, and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods; never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat or poultry, uncooked eggs, or seafood. Make sure to clean all cutting surfaces, utensils, and dishes with hot, soapy water before preparing additional food items.