Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

How do Nerve Agents Work, What are Dangers?

Aired August 21, 2002 - 07:50   ET

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Those al Qaeda videotapes clearly show the threat of bioterrorism looms large in many corners, and one of the most frightening and dangerous forms of attack could be from a nerve agent. Let's talk about how they work and how serious the dangers are, and what you need to know.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our medical correspondent, with us in our "House Call" today.

What gives, doctor? Good morning to you -- Sanjay.

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

Yes, well, they are, no doubt, very scary. And nerve agents are something that have been around for quite some time. They're usually -- they're something you can't often see. They're often odorless, maybe a faint, sweetish smell. That's it.

They have used nerve agents before. We've heard about the situation on Tokyo seven years ago in '95. Aum Shinrikyo, the terrorist group, actually released sarin gas into the subways at that point. Twelve people died, several were injured.

Bill, we've heard a lot about it. Let's just take a look at what actually happens inside the body when a nerve agent is released.

Specifically, these molecules will actually get absorbed, as you can see here, into the lungs. When that happens, they actually go to the neurons at the part of the brain that actually transmits nerve signals, and they start signaling very quickly, three to four times faster than they normally would.

That causes all kinds of responses in the body, including increased salivation, blurry vision -- that's from constricting the pupils -- convulsions, inability to breathe, coma and death. Those are the sorts of things that we saw with that unfortunate dog just a couple of days ago, those same sorts of effects. We don't know for sure what caused this in the dog, but this is certainly a possibility.

HEMMER: If, then, one is exposed to one of these nerve agents, is there advice? Are there guidelines to follow?

GUPTA: Right. That is a critically important point, Bill. I think -- you know, one thing is we have learned a lot about nerve agents, because they have been used for terrorism, and they have been used in the military for quite some time. What we do know is that it's really important, first of all, for rescuers when they get there not to be exposed themselves. This may seem like an obvious point. But you typically don't want to be performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on someone who has just been exposed to a nerve agent. Why? Because you may be exposed yourself.

Move victims to fresh air, obviously. Rush to an emergency room, because there are things that can be done at a hospital for patients who have been exposed to nerve agents. CPR may occasionally be necessary as well, because the heart and the lungs, those things may stop, and you need to keep the blood flowing. Atropine sulfate is one of the antidotes, and Pralidoxime Chloride is another antidote -- Bill.

HEMMER: Now, do you know readily available those are, those antidotes?

GUPTA: Atropine is something that you see in most hospitals. It's used for all sorts of different things. A critical point, though, as well, Bill, is that, you know, we're talking about minutes here when it comes to a nerve agent exposure. Actually getting someone to an emergency room, even waiting for responders to come, may, frankly, be just too long. So it may be something that has to be more accessible in large buildings, military personnel actually carry it on their person.

And basically what it does, you just inject that. And Atropine, for example, essentially reverses all of the effects of these nerve agents.

HEMMER: And quickly here, one thing that has sprung to my mind throughout the week here, all of the experts we have talked to and showed this videotape to have different opinions about what it is, what that substance is creeping into that room and eventually taking the life of that dog. Knowing that no one can pinpoint that, how much of a concern is that? How significant is that?

GUPTA: Well, I think that's obviously a concern. We wish that camera would have panned over a little bit more, so we could see what the agent was. But let me say this: That a lot of these antidotes, even if you were to give the antidote thinking that it was a nerve agent, that it would still be OK. You wouldn't actually -- that wouldn't cause any disastrous effects in the body.

So sometimes you don't know what it is. It is speculative. You give the antidote anyway. In case it was a nerve agent, you may have saved a life.

HEMMER: Got it. Interesting stuff. Thank you, Sanjay -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta in our "House Call." We'll see you again next hour.

GUPTA: See you soon.

HEMMER: All right.

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