If you pay for a monthly Metrocard with a debit or credit card it creates a record of the location of each swipe. Along with interviews of Ms. Nguyen’s close associates, her phone records, and credit cards bills we were able to reconstruct the last two weeks of her life to try and discern how she became exposed to anthrax spores. Our concern was palpable; were other New Yorkers incubating the disease or being exposed?
Her favorite stores and the businesses along her commute route for which a charge or receipt was found were visited. Armed with a photo epidemiologists questioned merchants. Few recognized her and no illnesses consistent with anthrax were uncovered. Ms. Nguyen was a religious woman and her co-workers had provided a list of churches she might have visited. The pastors were cordial, however, nothing turned up.
Everywhere we knew a letter had landed we found spores. Aside from Ms. Nguyen we could place each case in the vicinity of spores. It was some relief that in the week after her death no new cases had arisen, but what was different about Ms. Nguyen? The strain of anthrax was the same. Her work place, home and mail were all clean. So, what was the exposure? There was one place left in NYC we hadn’t yet looked.
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