An Egyptian sailor has died in northern Brazil -- and anthrax is suspected in his death.
Details are sketchy in this case. But according to wire reports, the man, Ibrahim Saved Soliman Ibrahim, had traveled from Cairo to the Amazon state of Para about two and a half weeks ago. There he was to meet a ship, destined for a smelter on the Saguenay River in Quebec. But before he could get on board, Ibrahim died in his hotel room, after vomiting, internal bleeding and multiple organ failure.
A spokesman for Brazilian police said that anthrax was responsible for the death. Ibrahim was given a suitcase in Cairo by an unidentified person and was due to deliver it to somebody in Canada, according to the spokesman. But he fell ill after opening the case.
Canadian authorities now have the ship in quarantine, 1,000 meters off the Nova Scotian port of Halifax. But they're not convinced that anthrax is to blame for the sailor's death.
"I can assure you we've discovered no threat to Canada, criminally or terrorism-wise," a Canadian inspector in Halifax told Canada Press. "Right now it's just a story."
Health Canada officials are expecting definitive test results on samples taken from the ship "early this week."
For background information on anthrax, click here.
THERE'S MORE: Now Brazilian health officials are saying that whatever killed the sailor, "it is not anthrax."
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