11 fall ill at Marine base after suspicious envelope opened

Eleven Marines reported feeling ill and three were hospitalized Tuesday after a gunnery sergeant opened an envelope containing an unidentified substance at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The people exposed to the envelope reported itchy hands and faces, bloody noses, sore throats, and other symptoms. The three who were hospitalized were stable, but no further details on their conditions were immediately available. The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating jointly. In 2001, anthrax sent in the mail killed five people and injured 17, prompting the U.S. Postal Service and government agencies and corporations to start screening mail for toxic substances.

Source: NBC News, USA Today