Some 1,500 French Treated
Preventively for Anthrax

PARIS (Reuters) - More than 1,500 people in France have received preventive antibiotic treatment for anthrax after receiving suspicious letters, Health Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Monday.

``In Paris, 813 people have been given antibiotics and more than 700 in the rest of the country,'' Kouchner told a news conference.

Medical experts last week reported that demand for antibiotics of the type that would be effective to combat anthrax rose tenfold in France in the wake of a spate of alerts, though France has yet to register a single case of the illness.

Demand had now fallen back to normal levels, health officials said on Monday.

``There is no supply problem. The antibiotics orders have been met,'' said Kouchner.

France has begun jailing or fining anthrax hoaxers since the death in the United States of three people and the confirmation of 12 other anthrax cases there, sparking fears of bioterrorist attacks.

A Justice Ministry official said the government had filed charges against 33 people and arrested two suffering from psychological problems. A further three remained under investigation.

Kouchner said the number of alerts was declining, although France had registered a total of 2,285 alerts since October 15, the highest number of any European country.

Each alert costs the government tens of thousands of francs (thousands of dollars), the Interior Ministry said.

Reference Source 89

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