Fears of germ warfare spread to Brazil today after a ground cleaning crew found a white powder aboard a flight from Frankfurt.
Health officials were conducting tests to determine if the substance discovered on the Lufthansa plane was dangerous, a spokesman for the German air carrier said.
The cleaners discovered 0.1 ounce (3 grams) of white powder inside a newspaper on a seat in the passenger cabin, company spokesman Mr Rainer Stadroth told Reuters.
They took the decision to inform the airport authorities in connection with all those reports in the press about anthrax and suspicious substances, Mr Stadroth said, adding that the cleaning crew was being kept in isolation.
Mr Stadroth said laboratory tests would be completed tomorrow, but no special effort would be made to protect passengers unless the material proved to be dangerous.
We have contact details for all the passengers, but we are awaiting the results, Mr Stadroth said.
The incident came amid growing concern over possible germ warfare in the United States, where a Florida man died last month after inhaling anthrax spores. Seven of his colleagues have also tested positive for exposure to the rare disease since the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. Additional nonfatal cases have been reported in New York and Nevada.
Police in Brazil said they were investigating the origin of the substance, which initial tests showed was not an illegal drug.