SIX staff members at the US consulate general in Durban, South Africa, were taken to a hospital for tests after an anthrax scare Tuesday, said public relations officer Amelia Broderick. She said the secretary to consul general Craig Kuehl opened a typed envelope, addressed to the consulate general, which contained “an unidentified white powder”. “We then called the police,” and a special unit arrived, said Broderick, who was one of those taken to hospital and prescribed antibiotics while awaiting the results of the tests. Broderick said a similar envelope addressed to the British consulate general was also delivered to the US office. It was taken away unopened, she said. All US embassies and consulates have been placed on high alert as a result of anthrax letters in the United States following the September 11 terrorist attacks there and subsequent strikes on Afghanistan. South African police have followed up 224 anthrax scares since early October, but representative Joseph Ngobeni said at the weekend that all had proved false. In 51 cases, the suspicious powder was determined to be such substances as detergent or coffee creamer. – AFP