Anthrax strain 'made in laboratory 50 years ago'
The anthrax strain which has killed a British-born journalist may have been made in a laboratory 50 years ago, say reports.
FBI investigators are testing the spores found at the offices of American Media Incorporated (AMI), publishers of the National Enquirer and The Sun magazines.
They believe they were man-made in a research laboratory in Iowa.
According to reports preliminary tests have found the spores were the same as those made at the Iowa laboratory in the 1950s, but conclusive tests are still awaited.
It has also emerged two of the hijackers who carried out the September 11 attacks on America had subscriptions to some of the tabloid newspapers published by AMI.
A source close to the inquiry said: "We're not sure what to make of that yet. It may mean absolutely nothing."
Fears are growing of a bioterrorist attack being launched on America and have been fuelled by the anthrax outbreak.
Bob Stevens, a 63-year-old British-born picture editor with The Sun, died last Friday of pulmonary anthrax, a rare form of the disease contracted by breathing in the spores.
The spores were also found in the nose of another man, who has not contracted the lethal infection, and more than 700 people are being tested to see if they were exposed to the rare disease.
