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American Morning

Anthrax Scare: Fact and Fiction About Anthrax

Aired October 16, 2001 - 10:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators have also traced two letters containing anthrax to a post office near Trenton, New Jersey. Two employees there have been tested for the disease.

And CNN's Maria Hinojosa there at the facility in Hamilton township with what they are saying on this Tuesday.

Maria, good morning to you.

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Here at this processing and distribution center, postal workers are trying to keep things going as normal. But clearly, this is not what is normal, what is going on here. because they know that in this site, they handled two letters that had anthrax. One that was sent to NBC on September 18th, and postmarked as well another one that was sent to Senator Tom Daschle. That means that the postal workers here are extraordinarily concerned, because they know that anthrax has been in their midst.

But there are still many unanswered questions. Were these letters sent from this area, seventy miles away from New York City? Were they sent from the general area? Were they sent from some place else outside the country and just processed here. Now the workers have been told that even if they handled the outside wrapping of a letter that contained anthrax, that the chances that they would come down with anthrax are extremely remote.

But two postal workers who had symptoms. One is a maintenance man, and he had symptoms similar to poison ivy. Another is a mail carrier, a woman, who had flu-like symptoms. She was given medication, but did not respond. Only she responded once she was given Cipro. The only postal employees that are getting tested are those who are having symptoms. There are postal inspector who are here that are still trying to conduct an investigation as to where these letters originated from and when they were postmarked through this plant. But clearly, there is a sense among the postal workers of concern.

Meanwhile, here at this site, which many people in this area use for their daily postal business, they are trying to -- they are coming in, dropping off their letters, picking up their mail. We did see one woman carrying an infant boy inside. People say that they are concerned, but at the same time, that they've got to keep on living their lives -- Bill.

HEMMER: Maria, thank you. Maria Hinojosa there in New Jersey.

We want to bring our conversation back here to Atlanta. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with us now, and there certainly is a whole lot of questions about anthrax, and we are being educated as we go along here.

I want to go ahead and look at fact or fiction and try to divide some of the things we're hearings, some of the claims, and possibly get some answers and some direction. The first thing. Anthrax can be rubbed between your hands and be completely harmless. Is that true or false?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That is true, Bill. There is no question about it. We have heard a lot about cutaneous anthrax, the skin version that you're talking about and specifically, what we are talking about here is spores that often need a break in the skin, a cut, we have been hearing about things like that, for the spores to actually get in. That is the usual way that anthrax spores would cause a skin sort of infection. So rubbing them between your hands is usually not a problem.

HEMMER: All right, the next one, Eighty to ninety percent of those exposed are in no danger of dying.

GUPTA: That also true. And, Biil, that should hopefully provide some reassurance for people out there who are obviously and justifiably very concerned about this. Most cases of anthrax, again, the cutaneous version making up over 95 percent of the cases, very easy it treat. If you catch the other versions, inhaled version or version that you swallow, also very easy to treat. So it's unlikely, if you are exposed, that you are going to die.

HEMMER: The other thing we hear, Sanjay, are the spores and the number of spores that have been found on certain people. Our next question: One needs thousands of spores in the body to be affected. True or false?

GUPTA: Also true. Bill.

Thousands of spores. We are not talking about a few spores that may find sitting around in one place or another. In order to get the inhalational version of anthrax, that version that people are most concerned about, you need thousands of spores. I have heard anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 spores, so quite a few. They are small, but that's a lot of spores as well.

HEMMER: All right, there is no difference between exposure and infection. That is our next query. Is there or not?

GUPTA: There is a difference, so that would be false, Bill. There is a difference between exposure and infection, and that is a very important point. There are many people who have been concerned about exposures here, but that in no way translates to an infection. Infection means that bacteria, spore-forming bacteria, in this case, has gotten into your body, started to wreak havoc, released its toxins and made someone quite ill. Many people are exposed and may not know they are exposed until they are tested and found out.

HEMMER: Tell me this, why is it that no one else at ABC at this point tested positive for anthrax exposure or infection, and it's only this one small child? How is that possible?

GUPTA: Well, first of all, let me just say that children have no difference in their immunity versus adults. I want to make that point clear. It's not that children are in some ways more susceptible. I have talked to several infectious disease doctors about this very point. I don't know the answer to this question. I'm not sure where this child, the 7-month-old actually contracted the bacteria, but certainly other people around there will try and locate that and find if there is a definite exposures. That is in contrast, of course, to the Capitol,. where there was a letter that contained anthrax.

HEMMER: A lot of the points we talked about, I think a lot of people would find surprising, just because we have heard so much about it. And as we go through this, trying to sort of what is true and what is false, and what is indeed fact or fiction.

GUPTA: That's right, and hopefully it will provide some reassurance as well for people.

HEMMER: Indeed.

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