In the event of an exposure, UHS would not be involved in the direct handling of facility protection.

“It’s not a health activity, it’s an environmental activity,” Mary Hennings, associate director for administration at UHS. “We would be involved in terms of advising the care of an individual.”

UHS is providing counseling and information to those who request it. Physicians will be running information sessions on anthrax this week, but admit that the likelihood of an infection incident is low. “The risk of actually contracting anthrax is extraordinarily low, just because targets seem to be at government offices, not everyday folks,” Hennings said.

UHS is also in direct contact with city and state health officials. “Given the current risk, we’re opening up lots of communication channels with government agencies,” Hennings said. “We’re taking our cue from them on what the appropriate actions are.”

The Harvard news website is coordinating daily updates from both UHS and EHS.

—Staff writer Arianne R. Cohen can be reached at cohen7@fas.harvard.edu.