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American Morning
In New York City, Couple Visiting Hospitalized for Bubonic Plague
Aired November 07, 2002 - 08:47 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: In New York City, a couple visiting from New Mexico hospitalized for bubonic plague. The man has tested positive. He's in critical condition, the first case in New York in well over 100 years. It's believed the couple contracted the disease from a wood rat and fleas on their property back in New Mexico. What is bubonic plague, and could it possibly be used as a war on terror? Two questions for our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta sitting very close to me here in New York City.
What about the case? A lot of people, me included, that this was eradicated a hundred years.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We think about the black death of Europe, 14th century, 38 million people over five years died from the plague at that point. That was a different form of plague for the most part, a form of plague called pneumonic plague. That's the kind that's actually spread from human to human. That is not what we are talking about here. Bubonic plague, a different sort of plague, actually transmitted from the bites of fleas that have bitten rodents, that actually have this bacteria in them.
A couple of the symptoms, let's just go over that, what actually happens to somebody that actually has bubonic plague. You can actually see there enlarged tender lymph nodes. That's actually where it gets its names. Those enlarged lymph nodes are actually called bubos -- bubonic plague, thus the name -- fever, chills, prostration. That prostration actually just bending over at the waist, because you have so much pain. This is a very painful thing as well.
Also, just talking about how people actually get bubonic plague. Again, I know you've been talking about this this morning, but half of the cases that occur in the United States actually occur in New Mexico. There is about 10 to 20 cases a year. You can see there, typically what happens, it's flea-borne from infected rodents to humans via a flea, direct contact with infected tissues or fluids from handling sick or dead animals, again, that had this bacteria called eursemia pedophile (ph), or respiratory droplets from animals that also have that.
But all of this bubonic plague, not pneumonic plague, this type of plague we're talking about here, does not get transmitted from human to human.
HEMMER: Does not?
GUPTA: Can not. HEMMER: What about cures for this couple right here?
GUPTA: Prospects are pretty good. What they say typically is that this is a bacterial infection, so it's treated with antibiotics. Streptomisen (ph) is the most common. We don't need to remember the name. But there are a lot of different antibiotics. We talked antibiotics a lot after anthrax. Streptomisin (ph) is the one that treats bubonic plague. One in seven people may die from this, about 14 percent.
But for the most part, it's a very treatable problem. This guy is pretty sick right now. He's in the intensive care unit. He's on a ventilator. He's getting antibiotics. He's getting fluids. All those things are not unexpected with this, but like I said, statistically, he has a pretty good chance.
HEMMER: The best to him and his wife.
Let me make a change right now, if I could. Let's get away from the serious stuff, bubonic. Salmon right now is on your radar today with regard to how healthy it is, depending on where the salmon are raised.
GUPTA: This is a really important topic, and we talk fish a lot on this show. Wild salmon versus farm salmon. Let me just lay it out for you sort of what the issues here. You have wild salmon, which are found in the wild, and typically what happens is those salmon eat smaller fish, who eat smaller fish, who eat smaller fish, who eat algae, and that algae is actually good to have in the system, because that creates something known as omega III fatty acids. That is the good thing. The good sort of fatty acids that we talk about all of the time.
Let's take a look here at why farm versus wild, 10 times more PCBs in some of the farmed salmon. PCBs, that's a toxin typically from pesticides. Higher pesticide levels in the farm. Methyl mercury levels, Paul and I have actually talked about this before. The mercury levels in salmon, actually the same in farm versus wild salmon. So people sort of concerned about that.
Now I also looked at why wild is actually better than farm, higher in protein, lower in saturated fat, higher in omega III fatty acids, and no traces of antibiotics. These farm salmon are getting all sorts of different things in their system. They're getting these pesticides. They're getting antibiotics. Sometimes, they're even being injected with dyes to make them look pink and make them look a little bit more like something you'd want to get.
HEMMER: Someday, I'll make my teriyaki salmon for you and Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Plague>
Aired November 7, 2002 - 08:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In New York City, a couple visiting from New Mexico hospitalized for bubonic plague. The man has tested positive. He's in critical condition, the first case in New York in well over 100 years. It's believed the couple contracted the disease from a wood rat and fleas on their property back in New Mexico. What is bubonic plague, and could it possibly be used as a war on terror? Two questions for our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta sitting very close to me here in New York City.
What about the case? A lot of people, me included, that this was eradicated a hundred years.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We think about the black death of Europe, 14th century, 38 million people over five years died from the plague at that point. That was a different form of plague for the most part, a form of plague called pneumonic plague. That's the kind that's actually spread from human to human. That is not what we are talking about here. Bubonic plague, a different sort of plague, actually transmitted from the bites of fleas that have bitten rodents, that actually have this bacteria in them.
A couple of the symptoms, let's just go over that, what actually happens to somebody that actually has bubonic plague. You can actually see there enlarged tender lymph nodes. That's actually where it gets its names. Those enlarged lymph nodes are actually called bubos -- bubonic plague, thus the name -- fever, chills, prostration. That prostration actually just bending over at the waist, because you have so much pain. This is a very painful thing as well.
Also, just talking about how people actually get bubonic plague. Again, I know you've been talking about this this morning, but half of the cases that occur in the United States actually occur in New Mexico. There is about 10 to 20 cases a year. You can see there, typically what happens, it's flea-borne from infected rodents to humans via a flea, direct contact with infected tissues or fluids from handling sick or dead animals, again, that had this bacteria called eursemia pedophile (ph), or respiratory droplets from animals that also have that.
But all of this bubonic plague, not pneumonic plague, this type of plague we're talking about here, does not get transmitted from human to human.
HEMMER: Does not?
GUPTA: Can not. HEMMER: What about cures for this couple right here?
GUPTA: Prospects are pretty good. What they say typically is that this is a bacterial infection, so it's treated with antibiotics. Streptomisen (ph) is the most common. We don't need to remember the name. But there are a lot of different antibiotics. We talked antibiotics a lot after anthrax. Streptomisin (ph) is the one that treats bubonic plague. One in seven people may die from this, about 14 percent.
But for the most part, it's a very treatable problem. This guy is pretty sick right now. He's in the intensive care unit. He's on a ventilator. He's getting antibiotics. He's getting fluids. All those things are not unexpected with this, but like I said, statistically, he has a pretty good chance.
HEMMER: The best to him and his wife.
Let me make a change right now, if I could. Let's get away from the serious stuff, bubonic. Salmon right now is on your radar today with regard to how healthy it is, depending on where the salmon are raised.
GUPTA: This is a really important topic, and we talk fish a lot on this show. Wild salmon versus farm salmon. Let me just lay it out for you sort of what the issues here. You have wild salmon, which are found in the wild, and typically what happens is those salmon eat smaller fish, who eat smaller fish, who eat smaller fish, who eat algae, and that algae is actually good to have in the system, because that creates something known as omega III fatty acids. That is the good thing. The good sort of fatty acids that we talk about all of the time.
Let's take a look here at why farm versus wild, 10 times more PCBs in some of the farmed salmon. PCBs, that's a toxin typically from pesticides. Higher pesticide levels in the farm. Methyl mercury levels, Paul and I have actually talked about this before. The mercury levels in salmon, actually the same in farm versus wild salmon. So people sort of concerned about that.
Now I also looked at why wild is actually better than farm, higher in protein, lower in saturated fat, higher in omega III fatty acids, and no traces of antibiotics. These farm salmon are getting all sorts of different things in their system. They're getting these pesticides. They're getting antibiotics. Sometimes, they're even being injected with dyes to make them look pink and make them look a little bit more like something you'd want to get.
HEMMER: Someday, I'll make my teriyaki salmon for you and Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Plague>
