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American Morning

Anthrax Investigation: Government Workers Return to Offices Amid Continuing Concerns

Aired October 26, 2001 - 11:04   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: We mentioned Capitol Hill. Let's go there now, and to Kate Snow, who is watching the openings and the still closings as well.

Kate, good morning to you.

KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, the Hart Senate Office Building, behind me, has been shut down for about a week now, and it remains closed. They've found a couple more hot spots of anthrax inside this building, way up on the 9th floor. This is where Sen. Tom Daschle's office is. They found where they had taken some workers from his office to be checked by physicians on that day that the letter was opened.

But take a look next door to the Hart Office Building, to the Dirkson Senate Office Building. That opened up today. This morning, people were out in front, waiting to get in, lined up even before 9:00 this morning, workers going into the building to get back into their offices for first time in one week, many of them talking to me, saying they were very pleased finally to be back at work.

But some of them had some concern, because earlier this morning, about 7:30 this morning, we took some pictures of what was happening behind the Dirksen Office Building. We saw people in protective gear, environmental teams going into that same building where we later saw people getting back to work. There were still teams going in and doing some decontamination work in the mail room inside the Dirksen Building. That area has been sealed off from the rest of the building, from where the people are working, but still is causing some concern on the behalf of the people who work inside.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they should have waited maybe another day. But I'm not even sure then. I don't think they really know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the hazmat guys out the back, so that was a little bit scary. I was hoping not to witness any of that today.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SNOW: Authorities here on Capitol Hill say there is no cause to be overly concerned about the situation here, Bill. They talk about those two hot spots that they've identified last night, but they say they fully expect to find hot spots in places like that, places where the Daschle staffers, the people who had been exposed to the anthrax had gone. That's not that unusual.

Again, they are treating people who had been in the immediate area around Sen. Daschle's office; they continue to take Cipro. They are also now treating some people who were around a freight elevator which was also identified as an area that was a hot spot.

But other than that, they say no one else has any reason to be very concerned.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: We will keep our fingers crossed on that front, certainly.

Kate thanks, Kate Snow, in Washington.

The latest anthrax victim now is an off-site State Department mail worker, diagnosed with inhalation form of anthrax. That man works at a Virginia facility that processes State Department mail. That mail first went through Washington, to Brentwood postal facility; that's where the anthrax-laden Daschle letter was processed, you may remember, as well.

Also, north, in New York, authorities confirm that they have found anthrax on machines at Manhattan's largest postal facility.

Jason Carroll is on the scene there now, bringing us up to date, on a Friday.

What are they saying now, Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, they found the anthrax on four mail-sorting machines up on the third floor of the Morgan Processing Facility. As you say, it is the largest mail distribution center in Manhattan. What is going to happen is those machines are going to be cleaned and sterilized, and they will be retested before being put back into service.

At least two anthrax-laced letters, one sent to NBC and one sent to the "New York Post," passed through New York City's mail system. As a precaution, early this week, New York City postal workers were given a 10-day supply of Cipro. It was given to the workers here at the Morgan facility and at five other facilities here in New York City.

Union officials tell us that 60 Morgan Processing Facility workers were tested, as a precaution, as well. The results of those tests, Bill, should come back later today.

We had an opportunity to speak with several workers out here early this morning and many of them say they are upset over the way this investigation has been run. They say that the Morgan facility should be shut down white the environmental cleanup is conducted.

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WILLIAM SMITH, N.Y. METRO AREA POSTAL UNION: What we tell the workers is very simple: Do not go in the building. And for those who might have gone in, we are going to find a way to get them out of the building. And we want them to understand they put risk in their own hands if they go in there.

ADDISON LYNCH, POSTAL WORKER: ... technicians for the same machines that have anthrax on it that was discovered. They need to do something about these machines and close them down, because it's not right that we are here being jeopardized, all us being jeopardized. We have families at home. It's not right. It's not right at all.

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CARROLL: Union officials are so upset, in fact, that they filed a lawsuit, and they are also, as you heard, encouraging some of their workers not to show up for work. We have contacted the U.S. Postal Service, and they say that attendance here is normal.

Also here in New York City, health officials say that they may have a second case of skin anthrax. Apparently, that is another NBC employee who may have contracted skin anthrax as well. To date, Bill, we have four confirmed cases of skin anthrax here in New York City: an NBC news employee; one from CBS; one from the "New York Post"; and that 7-month-old baby boy, the son of an ABC news producer -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jason, thanks. Jason Carroll, on the streets in New York.

The antibiotic Cipro -- or if you want to get technical, ciprofloxacin -- the good doctor tells me is used to treat anthrax.

Let's bring in Dr. Sanjay Gupta and talk more about that it.

Good morning to you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: When we talk about this, we know people are going out and buying Cipro whether they need it or not. Whether that's a good decision or a bad decision, let's put that aside. Whether you take Cipro, are there drawbacks to that?

GUPTA: There are drawbacks for taking an antibiotic that powerful, especially if you may not need it. The biggest drawback for an individual is that you have normal bacteria in your body. The normal bacteria do good thing for your body. Ciprofloxacin might kill those normal bacteria and leave you with some infections that may be hard to treat. Ciprofloxacin is a powerful antibiotic. That same concept may apply to entire community, making Cipro not a very effective antibiotic. Certainly, if you had to choose, Bill, between taking it for inhaled anthrax versus balancing the risks, you'd take it, but there are some drawbacks.

HEMMER: I saw some of the other drugs that have been talked about too. Are there other antibiotics that are just as effective?

GUPTA: We have been hearing a lot about that, and there are other antibiotics. Cipro is the one that was indicated by the FDA really concisely, and the reason for that was that they never found any strains of anthrax that were resistant to Cipro. So thought was if someone had anthrax, they should take an antibiotic you know would work. Cipro is part of a class of drugs called fluoroquinolones: levofloxacin and ofloxacin are also drugs within that. We have also been hearing a lot about doxycycline and penicillin. These antibiotics have all worked against these strains of anthrax that we have seen so far. They have been penicillin sensitive, and the other antibiotics have worked as well.

But Cipro is the first line of choice, until the sensitivities come back.

HEMMER: We heard the Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson pushing some of the companies that make the flu vaccine actually to make it earlier so it can get out earlier. What's the thinking behind that as it relates to anthrax?

GUPTA: The issue here is that a lot of the anthrax symptoms are very similar to flu-like symptoms. But there is a secondary issue as well. We may not have enough flu vaccine in this country. In fact, the numbers I've heard is maybe a 56 percent availability by the end of October. There are certainly a lot of discussions right now to increase the production of flu vaccine. Right now, the flu vaccine is still being recommended, but targeted to those people who are most at risk for flu: the elderly, the immunocompromised, people with weak immune systems, and people who work in hospitals. But Secretary Thompson is trying to increase the production so everyone can get the flu shot that wants it.

HEMMER: They're still saying get them.

GUPTA: Absolutely.

HEMMER: It is the cold and flu season soon upon us.

Sanjay, thanks. Talk to you later, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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