Anthrax found in US diplomatic package sent to Peru

US officials have found anthrax spores in a diplomatic package sent to Peru.

The mail pouch was one of six tested for possible exposure at the US Embassy in Lima.

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher says officials will begin a clean-up of 200 domestic and foreign diplomatic mail centres.

He said: "No anthrax spores were found outside the bag or in any of the other five bags in Peru. The contaminated bundle has been isolated and will be contained."

Mr Boucher says environmental experts are already drawing up a clean-up protocol for more than 200 diplomatic mailing locations.

Traces of anthrax have also been found in a health department mailroom in Washington DC.

The discovery of the bacteria is the latest in a series of finds in the US capital.

Already the American Supreme Court has been closed and its judges forced to move to another building after spores were found in a mailroom.

The number of confirmed infections has also grown, as a mail worker in New Jersey who had been treated for suspected inhalation anthrax was confirmed to be suffering from the disease.

A further six people in Washington remain in hospital where they are being treated for suspected inhalation anthrax.