Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Anthrax Investigation: Interview of Sen. Bill Frist

Aired October 18, 2001 - 09:10   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: For a political and medical perspective on the anthrax threat, we are joined live from Washington by Sen. Bill Frist, who is the only doctor in the Senate.

I guess that talent has come in handy lately, hasn't it -- welcome back Sen. Frist; good to have you with us this morning.

SEN. BILL FRIST (R), TENNESSEE: Paula, good to be with you, thank you very much.

ZAHN: Out of curiosity, how many of your colleagues have come to you for any kind of medical advice, particularly now that you have so many senators who fear they might have been exposed to anthrax?

FRIST: Well, Paula, a lot of people do. Before coming to United States Senate, I was a transplant surgeon, so all of my patients were immunocompromised, and in infectious disease, I had to be specialist. I have seen just about every infectious disease, although I can say that I have never seen anthrax. It is that rare.

ZAHN: So how nervous are your fellow senators, particularly those who were in offices that were shut down when there was concern that the ventilation system might have sent the air from Sen. Daschle's office into their offices?

FRIST: People have been very, very calm. I shouldn't that and say there's not a little feeling of insecurity. But we are in session today. In 1 1/2 hours, I will be on the Senate floor voting with all my colleagues; we're in business on Senate side.

The unknown does scare people, and when we talk about bioweapons or germs or bacteria, it is a brand-new field in terms of terrorism, in terms of crime, in many ways. But knowledge is power, and the United States, the American people, have access to that knowledge, whether it is in the detection of figuring out where this anthrax came from or what we need to do in order to avoid exposure to anthrax, what you do to diagnosis this, what kind of surveillance tests, looking at laboratories.

We have the very best public health system in the world, which should give people security, the security that we feel. We've been able to contain every one of these outbreaks that we have seen around the country. And individuals should be reassured in the fact you can diagnosis this early, in terms of documenting exposure; it is 100 percent treatable, both the cutaneous, the skin, as well as the inhalation form.

ZAHN: I'll tell you one thing, Sen. Frist, you say that, and obviously, we have the same challenge in informing people and finding that right balance between informing and not scaring the heck out of them. But there have been people who have talked to us this morning that think that the House sent a very mixed message, particularly when it was Sen. Daschle's office that was affected by this anthrax. And they find a little odd that the Senate is back to business today, but the House isn't. What kind of message is that to American people?

FRIST: I think the American people and the media and all of us need to recognize we are dealing with a germs and bacteria, or germ warfare, or crimes committed with germs. We are not talking about a conventional type of crime, where there is an event which can be sealed off, defined at the time. The whole purpose of all these nasal swabs is not to diagnosis disease in an individual -- that doesn't mean disease. The purpose of those is to define exposure, to define the environment: How far do these little aerosolized spores reach, and that's the real purpose of that.

So it is changing. As these cultures came back yesterday, we found 31 people with positive nasal swabs. We extended the perimeter a little bit there. We'll see what the cultures come back today.

On the Senate side, where I was involved, you have the Hart Building, that is connected to Dirksen Building, so we want to examine both of those buildings completely. Depending on what cultures show today, we might extend that perimeter even further.

The point of the matter is that we think that there is essentially zero risk at this point and time; everybody is going to be OK; we are in business right now on Senate floor, debating military operations; and we were in business yesterday, continuing the nation's business.

I think that is using the very best public health in United States of America; with the CDC, the NIH, and the Capitol Police, we feel it is perfectly safe to continue the nation's business here today.

ZAHN: Yes, but the House isn't. I actually Sen. Shelby that question too, and he didn't want to answer, earlier this morning.

FRIST: I think we need recognize that the decision made by the House members is made on a different set of criteria. Some of that is public, some is not. As you know, there was a package there that people at that time had a great concern about. It proved to be nothing. There are hoaxes everywhere. But people need recognize it is not just the fact it was on the Senate side or there is varying information, but there are particular small things that are put to the decision-making process. So it is not really a mixed signal; it is the nature of these bioweapons in using germs.

The bottom line is all of this is treatable. It is easily definable. We've got very best people working on it, and we are confident. That's why they are in business. ZAHN: Before we let you go, I thought Sen. Daschle said something that was so interesting when he talked about the simple act of compassion that some people in his office showed when they hugged each other -- it might, in fact, be what ultimately led them to be exposed to anthrax. Explain to us all this morning how that happens.

FRIST: First of all, anthrax is in three different forms. The bacteria and the spore are the same; it's whether you inhale it; whether you get it on your skin, a little spore on your skin, and it goes through a cut on your skin; or you eat it in some food. The inhalation is what we are focusing on a lot today, to look around in the air ducts and look around in the surveillance cultures that are going on today. That what's cultured in nasal passage. That is not disease; it is exposure that can be treated 100 percent.

The same thing with the skin lesions. A skin lesion can be treated anytime. It's 100 percent treatable and curable. The lesions themselves are easily identifiable.

You can person-to-person transfer the spores, not the disease -- this is not communicable; it is not contagious. If I'm infected, I can't give it to you or can't give it to anybody around me. I can give you some of the spores, and if you have an open cut, those spores, if they were placed in that cut, potentially could cause disease. Therefore, if I have it on my clothes, and I rub up against you, potentially, it could be on your clothes. A tiny, tiny risk. I would say it's essentially zero in terms of causing infection, but it's something we have to think about, and that is why we have the experts here.

ZAHN: Senator, I think that is one of the best primers we've gotten all along. Have you ever thought about practicing medicine full time again?

FRIST: I tried it once, and I may go back to it someday. Thank you.

ZAHN: I know all your free time, which is very little, you do offer your services in foreign countries for people who are in dire need of that help.

Sen. Frist, good of you to join us. Thanks again for your help.

FRIST: Paula, great to be with you. Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com