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First U.S. Swine Flu Death Confirmed; Agriculture Secretary Vilsack: "It's Safe to Eat Pork"; iPill Could Direct Treatment through GPS; The Swagga That Puts the Flava in the President's Step; Six Car Bombs Explode in Baghdad
Aired April 29, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We are pushing forward on the fight against the flu, swine flu now blamed for a toddler's death in Texas, reported in more states and countries, and suspected now at a Marine base in California. We're tracking the outbreak beginning with patient zero in Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLER: Oh, my God!
DISPATCHER: What is the problem, sir? You've got to tell me. What is going on, sir?
CALLER: There's a jet fighter following an aircraft. A big aircraft. Kind of like the 9/11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: One of the most talked about stories. You've seen the pictures. You've heard the outrage. Now hear the real-time sounds of real fear from the photo-op fiasco in lower Manhattan.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live from CNN world headquarters in
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We can tell you now there's no break in the outbreak. The CDC now counts 91 confirmed swine flu cases in the U.S. and one death: a toddler whose family was visiting from Mexico. The U.S. cases make up most of the known swine flu infections around the world, but the key word there is known. More than 2,500 cases are suspected in Mexico, where the outbreak began.
President Obama says that Washington is following developments closely and continuously, but Washington can't do everything.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's also the recommendation of our public health officials that schools with confirmed or suspected cases of H1N1 should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible. If the situation becomes more serious, and we have to take more extensive steps, then parents should also think about contingencies if schools in their areas do temporary shutdown. Figuring out and planning what their child-care situation would be. If we ended up having a school closure, a child was sick, just sending a child from the school to a daycare center is not a good solution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: More now on that first confirmed swine flu death. A 22-month-old Mexican boy who'd been visiting relatives in Texas. He arrived April 4, and he got sick on the 8th.
CNN's Ed Lavandera picks up the story from there at our bureau in Dallas.
Ed, what do you know?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what health officials here in Texas and in Houston, as well, are telling us is that this boy was -- had traveled from Mexico City, which is just south of the border from Brownsville, Texas, and crossed over, as you mentioned, to visit family and relatives. A few days later that boy came down with a fever.
Now, one of the things about this story is that health officials say that this boy also had, quote, "underlying health issues." So clearly, there was something else at play here with this boy, even though they won't go into specifics because of privacy issues. They won't go into specifics about what happened.
But over the course of the next few days, the boy's condition worsened. He was transported from that hospital in Brownsville to the -- to a hospital in Houston to undergo further treatment and because of that -- later on, not because of that, but later on the boy died.
But throughout all of this, health officials are saying that none of his relatives have come down with any flu-like symptoms, that no one else around this boy has become -- had become ill, as well, and that they also urge that all the people that were on the flight from Mexico City to Matamoras, Mexico, that that boy would not have been infectious at that time. So everyone on that flight presumably would be safe, as well.
Because of all of this, they are very limited in the information that they're releasing and really urging people to stay calm and not worry about this particular case.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep track with you, Ed. Thanks so much.
And even the Marines are on the defensive now. The Pentagon says that a sick Marine at 29 Palms in Southern California is being quarantined along with his healthy roommate, while they want to get the results of a swine flu test. More than 30 other Marines who the sick man had been in contact with are on restricted duty now and have been given antiviral medication.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not quarantined to the same level. They are also restricted until they are completely tested and we understand whether or not there's been any transmission. They are restricted in a very real sort of way. Not going to public places, not going to formations, not going to the mess hall and those kind of things until we have a clearer identity as to whether or not our first Marine has truly contracted the flu.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, the acting head of the CDC says that swine flu figures are probably dated by the time that he announces them, and that's how fast things are changing. With that in mind, here's the latest breakdown on the outbreak in America.
Ninety-one confirmed cases in 10 states. More than half the known cases are in New York, Texas, and California are a distant second and third. Then the Indiana case was a student at Notre Dame who got sick last week and has already recovered. Illinois has no confirmed cases yet, but a sick child in Chicago is being tested and a school reportedly is closed there.
Worldwide Germany, Austria, Costa Rica are the latest to confirm swine flu illnesses. Not counting Mexico, the total comes to 135. In Mexico the suspected cases topped 2,500. The confirmations are slow coming. No country outside Mexico or the U.S. has reported a swine flu death.
So what now? Are vaccines the answer? Quarantines? We wash our hands and hope for the best? CNN's Colleen McEdwards at the Centers for Disease Control. She's right here in Atlanta.
Colleen, push this forward for us and tell us what's next.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Well, you know, here is the thing. We're seeing really, Kyra, the biggest bump up in the numbers that we've seen from the CDC so far. As you mentioned, we've gone from 64 confirmed cases to 91. Five confirmed cases to ten. So it's a big bump up.
But I have to say, Kyra, it's not unexpected. This is what the CDC expected moving forward, what it has been preparing for and planning for. More cases and more severe cases, as well.
Here's what the health and human services secretary said just a short time ago about what's being done right now and moving forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The federal government has nearly 50 million treatment courses of the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza in the strategic national stockpile. The government has already begun shipping the medications and other personal supplies to states. States with confirmed cases are a priority, as the resources are distributed.
I want to make it clear, these drugs are effective in treating patients who have acquired the 2009 flu virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCEDWARDS: Now, the change in the numbers, the confirmation of a death in the United States, according to the CDC, doesn't change the plan here. It's still the same, Kyra: wash your hands, use sanitizer if you can't get hot soap and water, and have a plan. If your school closes -- and we're now starting to see that around the United States in some of the affected states. Schools are being closed. Have a plan of what to do with your child.
If you get sick, don't go into work. As one CDC official told me right here, this is a marathon, he said. This is not something that's going to be over with within a couple of days or a couple weeks. This is a marathon.
PHILLIPS: Trying to find out where the heck it came from, as well. That's going to be a very long journey. Colleen McEdwards there in front of the CDC for us. Thanks so much.
And find the first patient to come down with swine flu, and you could win a key round in the fight against the disease. CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, searched for that patient and the origin of the swine flu virus. Here's what he found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the goals for doctors and scientists is to try and figure out where this virus, H1N1, originated. We were getting some tips that it probably came from an area close to pig farms. Given people call this a swine flu, there may have been a jump, if you will, from pigs to humans at some point.
Over the past few days, doctors started to zero in on an area called Matamoras, which is an area about two hours northeast of Mexico City. Pig farms are in the area, and there was a boy, a 5-year-old boy, who's now being referred to as patient zero. We found him.
Take a look at him there. He is a cute adorable boy. Edgar Hernandez is his name. He's there with his mother. He is being called patient zero because back in late February, early March, he became ill, and he did get tested. His blood was taken at that point, but keep in mind, swine flu as we know it now, H1N1, had not yet been identified.
When the news started to come out about swine flu, they went back and tested his blood, and in fact, it did come back positive.
There's a lot to learn from Edgar and a lot to learn from La Gloria, as well. How exactly did this particular virus originate? How is it behaving now? As I mentioned, a lot of people blame maybe these pig farms. We went to one of these pig farms to try and understand how this could possibly have happened. They are very careful to say that there's really no relationship between the pig farms and Edgar or any of the people living in La Gloria.
In fact, they released this statement: "Smithfield Farms has no reason to believe that the virus is any way connected to its operations in Mexico. Its joint ventures in Mexico routinely administer influenza virus vaccinations to their swine herds and conduct monthly tests for the presence of swine influenza."
There's no question that scientists and researchers are going to be focusing on this particular area in the days and weeks to come. This may be the beginning of an outbreak, this location where we are now. What can they do about it? What does it mean for the rest of the world? We'll see soon.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Veracruz, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Our government is telling us it's OK to eat pork. So why are so many countries banning American pork? I'm going to cover that and other key safety issues with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in our next half hour. He'll join us live. You won't want to miss this.
One hundred days in and President Obama's approval rating is in the 60s. Guess which other president enjoyed pretty much the same numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It could go down as one of the most clueless or perhaps boneheaded photo shoots ever. Now we're finding out the high cost of flying low.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Today marks 100 days since I took the oath of office to be your president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: President Obama now 100 days into the gig. Here is what CNN's poll of polls says about the job that he's doing so far. Sixty-three percent approve; 29 percent disapprove.
You know whose approval ratings were just a hair below that? George W. Bush. His first 100 days back in 2001 got him a 62 percent approval rating.
Of course, President Obama will cap his first 100 days in office with a prime-time news conference. And you can see it right here on CNN along with our "NATIONAL REPORT CARD" special, starting at 7:00 Eastern. He's just wrapped up a town hall meeting year St. Louis. That's where Jill Dougherty is. She was there, too.
Hi, Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
We're here at Fox High School. That's in Arnold, Missouri, not very far. It's a suburb of St. Louis.
And President Obama really giving himself 100-day report card, how he's been doing. He said that he's not a miracle worker, that there are a lot of things that have to be done, but he also said don't be surprised. You know, some people say I'm biting off more than I can chew, but he said, "I'm doing what I said I'd do during the campaign."
Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: So today on my 100th day in office, I've come back to report to you, the American people, that we have begun to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off, and we've begun the work of remaking America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: So he listed his priorities as investments in education, renewable energy, and mostly in health care. In fact, he said the key to everything is health-care reform, and he wants a bill by the end of the year.
So the president will be going back to D.C., as you mentioned, Kyra, for that prime-time news conference tonight.
PHILLIPS: Just to add a little flavor, Jill, we were watching it, and even some of the youngest supporters there in the crowd asked questions. We heard one, not sure how old the child was. You could only hear the voice, asking -- fourth grade I'm being told -- asking questions about alternative energy.
DOUGHERTY: Right. And you know, that was one of the cuter ones. They were really -- I think you'd have to say almost a lot of them on the -- on the economy. You know, a GM worker, an auto worker, people talking about health care and really economic concerns very strong on the minds of people here.
PHILLIPS: Well, we love to hear the kids are asking the questions, too. They've got to be economically and environmentally sound. Thanks, Jill.
Well, if there was a cherry on top of the president's first 100 days, this might be it. The Democrat formerly known as Republican Senator Arlen Specter. Specter dropped a party switch bomb on the GOP yesterday. He admits he jumped the aisle in part to help him get re- elected in Pennsylvania.
And if Al Franken's apparent victory in Minnesota holds up, the Democrats will hit the magic 60 which is needed to end filibusters. And talk about hitting the ground running. Kathleen Sebelius went from governor of Kansas to secretary of health and human services to the center of the swine flu fight, all in a matter of hours.
The Senate confirmed her 65-31 yesterday, and she's already been to White House briefings on the outbreak. Beyond swine flu, Sebelius also takes charge of pushing forward the president's health-care agenda.
Now, we're just -- just over five hours away from the CNN "National Report Card." Tonight at 7 Eastern, 100 days of the Obama presidency. At 8, President Obama's self-assessment during his live news conference. Grab your laptop. Go to CNN.com and get ready to hand out your grades along with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, and the rest of our best political team on television.
Felony stupidity ain't cheap. Guess how much this low-flying photo shoot cost and you ought to hear the 911 calls from the New Yorkers worried that April 27 was another September 11.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's called swine flu, but our government tells us it's safe to eat pork. Are they absolutely certain of that? In just a few minutes I'll ask the man who should have some answers for us: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Well, that low-flying photo shoot fiasco on Monday in New York is still generating quite a buzz. The president has ordered a review to find out how it happened.
Senator John McCain has written a letter to the Pentagon complaining about it, and now we can hear what it was like to actually see this and have no idea what was going on.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Oh, my God.
DISPATCHER: What is the problem? You've got to tell me. What is going on, sir?
CALLER: There's a (INAUDIBLE) falling an aircraft, a big aircraft kind of like the 9/11.
DISPATCHER: The building is falling down? On Montgomery and where?
CALLER: Between Montgomery and Grand Street, 101 Hudson.
DISPATCHER: 101 Hudson?
CALLER: Everybody is running. People are crying and panicking. (END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: It was a mistake, as was -- as was stated. It was something we found out about along with all of you, and it will not happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And guess how much that photo shoot cost? Air Force officials put it at nearly $329,000, but they add that if this mission had not flown, another one would have.
An Air Force source also tells CNN that another low-flying photo- op was planned for D.C. but now it's been canceled.
Do you smoke and are you married to a smoker? How would you like to pay literally for your spouse's bad habit? Think about that one, and I'll tell you who's about to pay up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Flu spreads and flu kills. That's a fact. Year in and year out. And the current outbreak of swine flu seems pretty typical, but it is new and it is different. Here's the latest breakdown on the outbreak.
More than 150 confirmed cases around the world, most recently in Germany and Austria. Ninety-one of those cases are in the U.S. And today we learned that a toddler who was visiting Texas from Mexico has died.
Mexico now reports more than 2,500 suspected swine flu infections, but very few of those have so far been confirmed.
President Obama says that U.S. schools ought to consider closing if students turn up sick, and parents need to be prepared.
Now an important question facing every American: is our food safe? You'll recall the rash of recent food recalls, some linked to salmonella poisoning. Now swine flu. Some Mexicans blame an American-owned pig farm for the outbreak.
Here's what our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, discovered.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: There's no question we stumbled onto a controversy here. The citizens of La Gloria really believe that the pig farms in the nearby areas got so many of their citizens sick. So we decided to pay those pig farms a visit.
(voice-over): The industrial pig farm is huge and owned by American company Smithfield foods. People in town say they believe this is the source of the outbreak.
(on camera): We finally made our way to the hog farm, but the Mexican department of agriculture and the company itself said they have done testing, and the tests have come back negative. They simply won't let us through security, and they say they won't show us the pigs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And in a statement, Smithfield -- Smithfield Foods says that the company, quote, "Has no reason to believe that the virus is in any way connected to its operations in Mexico."
It says its joint ventures in Mexico routinely administer vaccination to their swain herds and conduct monthly tests for swine influenza. There's no evidence of the presence of North American influenza in any of the company's swine herds or employees at any of its worldwide operations, including those in the United States.
Joining us now, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being with me.
TOM VILSACK, U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: You bet.
PHILLIPS: I guess I want to ask you right off the bat, is anyone within your department investigating Smithfield?
VILSACK: The reality is that this is not a food-borne illness. This has got nothing to do with the consumption of pork or pork products. They are safe. We are in the process of trying to make sure that we get the message out about -- about that to sort of counteract some of the media messages which are very harmful to the farm families across this country that are raising hogs and trying to make a living for their families.
PHILLIPS: So Mr. Secretary, if it has nothing to do with pork, if pork is 100 percent safe to eat, why is it being called swine flu?
VILSACK: Well, it shouldn't be called swine flu. That's the point. It should be called H1N1, which is what, basically, technically, what it is. It's different strands of viruses and flus.
There's a human strand, for example, in this combination. This is a new combination. Bottom line is this is not a food-borne illness that people are getting. It has nothing to do with the consumption of pork products. Pork products are safe.
I will tell you that, this morning, I had pork for breakfast. Last night, I had pork. I'm going to continue to eat pork, and I'm going to encourage American consumers to do the same. And also our trading partners to make sure that they make decisions based on the science and not the emotion of the situation.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about the science. Where do you believe, then, that this is coming from? I mean, you're right here on the forefront of this. You've got every single expert working with you, underneath you. What are you thinking it is?
VILSACK: Well, it is a new flu combination, but we do know that it is not transmitted by consuming food. It's not a food-borne illness. Therefore, it isn't about whether or not work pork products are safe or not. They are safe. They're safe to consume. That's the issue that we're trying to address at USDA.
Obviously, the Health and Human Services, the CDC, are working on the medical side of this. We're obviously concerned about the fact that there are people who are sick and some who have died. Our hearts go out to them.
But this is a multifaceted situation. The government is working in all areas to make sure that we get the right information to people about this situation, and when we mischaracterize it, it creates problems for a lot of hard-working families out there.
PHILLIPS: All right. So you're -- are you telling me that every single news organization, every single reporter, everything that we're doing today on CNN is completely wrong and completely off-base, and that we are all chasing this story in the wrong direction?
VILSACK: No, no. What I'm suggesting is that it should not be -- it should not be characterized as swine flu. That's not what this is, because it sends the wrong message about the safety of pork products. And basically, there are people's livelihoods that depend on getting the message right.
We just want to make sure there's a clarification, because we are working every single day to reinforce the message to American consumers and to our trading partners that our pork products are safe.
PHILLIPS: So let me ask you this, then. President Obama last month asked both you and the Department of Health and Human Services, and we saw the swearing in of Sebelius, of course, today to head this committee to improve food safety.
First of all, has anything happened on that front? Second of all, I want to ask you about Alfred Almanza, the administrator of the USDA's food safety inspection service. He actually told one of your subcommittees, agriculture subcommittee, that there is -- there needs to be a risk ranking of food products to help them come up with a better inspection system and to help them figure out where to focus their attention, inspectors, et cetera.
Do you see these efforts on behalf of President Obama and Alfred Almanza completely separate of what we are seeing happen right now?
VILSACK: Absolutely. There is no question that we need to focus on food safety generally in this country. There are continued statistics that suggest that it's important for us to do this. We have 375,000 people who are hospitalized every year as a result of food-borne illnesses, and some people die. It isn't just the way food is produced. It's not just the way food is processed. It's also the way it's handled. So, there's an effort. The Human Services Department and the USDA have been working since the president made his announcement. There have been staff meetings. We've got a framework for discussion. I had talked to Secretary Sebelius yesterday about this very issue. We are going to get together, now that she's been confirmed, and move this agenda forward.
What is involved? Number one, a consistency of philosophy in terms of food safety. Are we going to focus on prevention? Are we going to focus on mitigation? We at USDA think it ought to be a prevention process. Do we have the authority to be able to recall foods that we know to be dangerous? There is some question about that.
Is there the right kind of connection and communication between departments? We want to improve that. So, there's a lot of work that has to be done, but it is not particularly related to this particular circumstance.
PHILLIPS: So, let me just -- final question then. If you think this should not be called swine flu, that this has nothing to do with swine, it should be H1N1, and meanwhile we have all these resources in Mexico and within all these factories -- we're talking about Smithfield -- it sounds like to me that you're saying, look, you should be looking in a different direction.
So, as someone who's directly involved with this and this huge media frenzy at this point, where should we be looking then if it has nothing to do with swine?
VILSACK: What I'm saying is that when you call it that, it conveys something about pork products and the consumption of pork that's not correct. It suggests...
PHILLIPS: OK. So, you're saying it has nothing to do with food.
VILSACK: It is not a food-borne illness. That's the point. It's not a food-borne illness. It's transmitted from human to human. It's airborne. All right?
So, therefore, suggesting it's swine flu may send the wrong message about whether it's safe to have a pork chop tonight. It is perfectly safe to have a pork chop tonight, and we want to make sure we say that to our consumers here at home and also to our trading partners all across the world. Why is that important? Because there are a lot of hard-working families whose livelihood depend on us getting that part of the message correct.
PHILLIPS: Secretary Tom Vilsack, appreciate your time today.
VILSACK: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, the swine flu outbreak has everyone worried, as you can see, or as the secretary says we maybe should say H1N1 outbreak, but there's another flu bug that's more common and kills more people every year. We're going to talk about that straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now, imagine taking a pill that knows where to go in your body to deliver the dosage. Well, medicine and machine merge in the new iPill. Sean Callebs takes a look at how this smart pill works in today's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wireless technology is everywhere. And soon, it could even be inside us. Sound hard to swallow? Well, meet the iPill.
JEFF SHIMIZU, PHILIPS RESEARCH: What we're doing is we're putting smarts on board of a drug delivery pill.
CALLEBS: Part medicine, part machine. The iPill is equipped with microsensors and GPS-like navigation so it knows exactly where it is in the body. When it's time to deliver the dose, it goes to where your body needs it most.
According to researchers, this makes the medication work better and limits potential side effects.
SHIMIZU: Medications today are basically designed for the average person. Some people it helps, some people it does no effect, and some people it makes sick. But if you can change that for the person, then you can widen that range of people who are going to be effectively treated by your medication.
CALLEBS: iPill is still being tested on animals, but it could be instrumental in fighting Crohn's disease, colitis and even intestinal cancer. And down the road, the small mechanics on this revolutionary pill could have an even larger effect.
SHIMIZU: This falls along the line with -- what's coming in the future is personalization of health care. We're programming that pill for you, and we're seeing if you're responding and changing as time goes on, rather than just sending you off with a bottle of pills and call me back in two months.
CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, a sobering warning from the homeland security chief about the swine flu. Janet Napolitano says expect to see more deaths and more severe cases of the virus here in the U.S. Napolitano is testifying before the Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committees today. She says that the government is releasing almost 13 million doses of anti-viral medication to combat the outbreak, and she says that we could see the outbreak subside this summer, only to re-emerge in the fall. Now, right now, there are 91 confirmed cases of swine flu in the U.S., but every year, some 36,000 people in the U.S. die from the regular flu, so what makes swine flu worse than the regular flu? Well, that's the question we're posing to our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
And I want to ask you about my interview with Secretary Vilsack in just a second. But let's go ahead and hit this because I know a lot of people are wondering about the difference between the two, and is there really a difference.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. You know what? Symptomatically, if you just look at the symptoms, there actually isn't much of a difference. When you look at symptoms, both seasonal flu and this new swine flu cause fever, vomiting, body aches, all of that. But when you look at how deadly the flu is, there's no comparison. The seasonal flu, I'm talking just the regular flu people get every winter, kills about 36,000 Americans.
So far in this country, only one person has died from the swine flu. So, I think that's very important sort of as we move on. I mean, people don't usually freak out over just the regular seasonal flu, but definitely people are freaking out about swine flu.
PHILLIPS: OK, so does the current flu vaccine do any good then?
COHEN: No. I've been told that if you got a flu shot this year, it's not going to...
PHILLIPS: Forget about it.
COHEN: Right. It's not going to help you.
PHILLIPS: OK. Then we talk about the summer heat. Will that add as a containment?
COHEN: You know, not the summer heat itself. It's not as if the heat kills the virus or anything like that. But what happens during the summer months is that people spend more time outside. This is how an infectious disease expert explained it to me. People aren't sort of cooped up inside as much as they are during the winter.
When people are outside, they don't transmit diseases to each other as much as when they're inside and kind of in each other's faces indoors. So, that's why you see respiratory diseases like the flu, they take a downturn in the summer. You don't see so many. And then when the weather gets colder, there's more flu because people are with each other more.
PHILLIPS: So, can you get the vaccine now from your doctor, or do you actually have to show the symptoms first?
COHEN: As far as swine flu goes, there is no vaccine.
PHILLIPS: Nothing at all that you...
COHEN: There's no vaccine right now. Nope, nothing.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, it's, I mean, there -- so there really isn't a vaccine that you can -- anything you can do at this point?
COHEN: No. If you for some reason suspect that you're getting swine flu, you can go to your doctor -- first, you should call your doctor. Don't just show up. If you've got swine flu, he might not want you in his waiting room. He might have other ways to see you.
But call your doctor. You can say, I just came back from Mexico. I have these symptoms. There is a chance he might want to talk to you about getting anti-viral medications. There are two that should theoretically work for you, but there's no vaccine.
A vaccine is something that you give someone either before they're sick to prevent them from getting sick. Or sometimes you give a vaccine to someone after they've become ill as a treatment. But either way there's no vaccine, so don't bother asking.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, when we talk about Tamiflu and all these other things like we've heard...
COHEN: Those are antivirals. So, I'll be -- let me be more clear, because I think I'm a little confusing.
PHILLIPS: There you go, yes, because a lot of people are confused between...
COHEN: OK. OK. I'm going to do a 101 here.
PHILLIPS: I love it.
COHEN: OK. An anti-viral is something like Tamiflu or Relenza, which is a drug that you give someone after they've become ill, or sometimes you also give it to someone before they become ill. An anti-viral, it is a medicine. It is a pill that you take. A vaccine is a shot that you take in order to prevent getting the disease, and sometimes also used as treatment.
So, an anti-viral is a pill. A vaccine is a shot. We don't have a vaccine for swine flu. We have anti-virals, which work -- anti- virals work against a bunch of different viruses. There are two that work against the swine flu, theoretically.
PHILLIPS: And that's what we heard Kathleen Sebelius talking about, that they're upping the amount of those and sending them out...
COHEN: In the pipeline. Right.
PHILLIPS: ... across the country.
COHEN: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: Exactly.
All right, now, final question, because I was interviewing Secretary Vilsack, secretary of agriculture. And he's saying in no way is this a food-borne illness. The pig farms are safe. It's not coming from pork. He's eating pork. He said he ate it today, he ate it last night.
And I said, OK, then tell me, are we moving in the wrong direction? Are these just completely safe, these types of farms? And I think that I should have made the point that -- and I should have been more direct with him about, it's contact with pigs versus eating the pigs.
COHEN: Correct. Swine flu is not spread by eating pigs.
PHILLIPS: Right.
COHEN: Not spread that way. However, swine flu is spread from contact with pigs. For example, if you were to check every pig farm worker in this country to check their antibodies, 20 to 25 percent of them would show they have swine flu in the past because they're in constant contact with these animals. They're not necessarily eating them. They're in contact with them. They're touching them. They're in contact with their bodies.
That's what spreads swine flu, not eating. So, when the secretary said swine flu is not a food-borne illness, he's right. You don't get it from eating it. Now, we've all had food-borne illnesses. You know, you go to a restaurant. You eat the food. You get sick. That's a food-borne illness. This is a respiratory illness. You get it from being near someone who's coughing.
PHILLIPS: And still could be tied if you live next to or are touching or runoff water from a pig farm.
COHEN: Pig farm workers get swine flu commonly, happens a lot. Not because they're eating the pigs, but because they have contact with the pigs.
PHILLIPS: Going to get us on a better track here. Thank you. It can be very confusing.
COHEN: These are confusing, absolutely.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: I'm glad I'm here to help clarify.
PHILLIPS: You're my girl.
COHEN: OK.
PHILLIPS: All right, well, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is asking your frequently asked questions about swine flu. Click on to CNN.com/health to find out how the swine flu symptoms differ from regular flu and learn about the best ways to protect yourself.
Will you ever notice a certain swagger in the president's step?
Did I say that right, T.J.? All right, he said that's OK.
If you look closely, you might notice the commander in chief has more swagger than Mick Jagger.
T.J., come on. Give me a little swagger. Come on, T.J.
Definition, explanation from our resident swagger expert, T.J. Holmes.
Come on, T.J., give me a little swagger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Miss Miller from Maryland. I just want to say the Americans are so very lucky to have a smart, young and energetic president. I give him an A.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, our white cameraman is trying to "swagga" over there with the camera. "Swagga" -- it's like swagger with a little more "flava." We were curious to know if President Obama has got it just like the song says.
So, of course, "swagga" Guru T.J. Holmes takes a look at it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What have you all seen? Maybe you haven't said publicly, some interview or something, but, you know, hanging out with your boys, having a beer somewhere. Did you see something that the president did, and you were like, that's a brother right there. Like, he just has a big of a swagger that is familiar to black men. It just is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, the one aspect of his relationship with his wife that I remember that made me think of being a brother is that there was an interview, and you all may remember this interview. I can't remember if it was "60 Minutes" or one of the other shows. It may have been on your folks, CNN. But he said something, and she corrected him. And he stopped, and he said, OK, and he accepted that and moved on. And we all know what that's about.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, there are those things that one might point to that are, you know, stereo -- more stereotypical of brothers who operate in certain ways. But there is something that he is doing which I think is also stereotypical of our community, and that is being inclusive. And that is not -- I'm not saying that we have cornered the market on communication acumen, but by being communicative and creating a community of change is something I would say is very typical of life in our community. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you've seen the president embrace people. That is very much typical as a part of an African-American culture, that we embrace people. Not only do we shake hands, but we believe that closeness and embracing is fundamental to how we communicate. And I've seen the president do that on more than one occasion.
So, I think that's a clear -- one of the clear reflections that -- of, you know, his actions, as you call it, as a brother, because we do do that. As a matter of fact, each one of these men when we arrived today, we shook hands and we embraced. And it's just a communication of affection and certainly of comfort, and -- with oneself and with those that you encounter. And I think he's done that well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bush's last inauguration, he was home at 10:00. I was at a ball at 2:00 with President Obama. And one of the things that when you look at that, they're already saying in Washington how the social scene has changed. And as you already alluded to, John, how he's inviting various people into the White House. He's out in public with his family. They're...
HOLMES: What are you doing until 2:00 in the morning?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Praying for those who...
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so, I'm excited about that. It just -- it opens -- in a time where it looks like, you know, all this calamity and challenge, yet we still can move through this, deal with our challenges, face those, and still be able to interact, have a great relationship. And it keeps things going, keeps people up tempo and vibrant. That's a brother.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So, T.J.'s biggest concern now is that we're going to be not politically correct.
HOLMES: Well...
PHILLIPS: So, bottom line, every white president has had absolutely no "swagga." Is that what you're saying? They're stuffy, uptight presidents.
HOLMES: Some would say that. Now, I'm not saying that. But when you look, I mean, people notice. And maybe it is kind of one of these things you're not supposed to say. But it is just -- you can go from Billy D. Williams to Shaft to whoever you want to talk about. There's a bit of a, like we said, a swagger sometimes that people associate with -- the song comes on -- with black men. PHILLIPS: I was hoping to hear a little "Shaft" music, Otis (ph), if you could roll that for us.
HOLMES: And that's what they're talking about and speaking on, whether it's -- I mean, he went and sat courtside at a basketball game. He went - I mean, he goes out to nice dinners. He goes out on the town. He's not scared to be this young, hip guy, and a lot of black men will look at that. Whether they'll say it on camera or not, they will look at that. And behind the scenes, because I have these conversations with a lot of guys I know, that's a brother. They will. They'll say that: That's a brother.
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, I mean -- and people have said that about you. You've had this sort of laid-back...
HOLMES: Oh, stop.
PHILLIPS: ... cool, kind of, you know, delivery. But you bring up a really interesting point. Really. We should just -- we -- full transparency here.
HOLMES: Yes, please.
PHILLIPS: And even within your conversation, one of the gentlemen with whom you spoke said that that can be inclusive, but it seems like he's getting more attention for kind of being this hip, young, comfortable, "not afraid to give hugs" type of president, whereas in the past it's not necessarily...
HOLMES: Because we always feel like our president is at a distance from us sometimes, like they're so far away. This president makes you feel like -- and they do attribute that to the fact that he is a black man, and that is a part of the black culture, just being open and inclusive. Every one of those guys, when I showed up for the interview, we embraced. I mean, that's just -- you see me and Tony Harris in here, every time we see each other, we embrace.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I don't see you hugging Rick Sanchez. What's up with that?
HOLMES: I'm just -- it's just a part of the culture sometimes, and they're saying that it's definitely showing up in his presidency. I know you got a kick out of this, didn't you?
PHILLIPS: Yes, I did. This is, like, my favorite subject matter, especially with you. T.J., thanks. It was great.
HOLMES: You want to hug it out?
PHILLIPS: Yes, let's hug it out. Oh, wait, I've got to -- now I got to get the bump, too.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness.
PHILLIPS: All right, probably won't be much "swagga" talk tonight during CNN's "National Report Card." But there's plenty of other stuff to talk about. Spend the evening with the Best Political Team on Television starting at 7:00 Eastern -- 8:00 a.m. President Obama -- or 8:00 p.m. then, the president himself will give his self- assessment during his live news conference. Be sure to grab your laptop and go to CNN.com. Get ready to hand out your grade.
Well, swine flu fears have caused quite a rush for information and surgical masks. We're going to go inside a Texas mask factory working overtime to meet that huge demand.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Some developing news out of Baghdad right now. Apparently six blasts within the last four hours. Cal Perry is working this for us right now. Cal, do you think it has anything to do with the fact that trying to make themselves known, the terrorists there in that country, on President Obama's 100 days in office?
CAL PERRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm not sure if the two are related, but certainly everybody is looking as June 30th as the date which the U.S. is going to pull combat troops out of Iraq. It was less than a week ago, Kyra, when you and I were talking about 24 hours of hell across Iraq. I can only describe this as four hours of wave of car bombs. We've had six, as you mentioned, car bombs, over 50 people killed.
The most devastating incident, three car bombs simultaneously exploding in Sadr City, killing at least 45 people there alone. That is a Shia stronghold, as you know. And just to give you an idea, we're talking about 2.5 million people living in just 25 square kilometers. So, you can imagine how densely packed those markets were when those car bombs went off.
We're still trying to keep up with the numbers. They're still coming in, but as I said, at this point, we're looking at about 50 people killed in six car bombs in under four hours, dozens of other people wounded. We're still getting reports from both Ministry of Interior and other government officials. Keeping an eye on the numbers, but six car bombings in four hours, that's certainly no joke, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Not at all. Cal Perry, live from Baghdad. We appreciate it. We'll stay on top of that story.
Meanwhile, we are pushing forward on where we stand on swine flu. Cases are spreading. Test results coming back faster than authorities can track them. Around the world, the virus has turned up now in Germany, Austria and Costa Rica on top of several countries already affected. In the U.S., we're just getting word of three cases newly confirmed in Maine. Add those to the 91 cases previously confirmed in the United States -- or in 10 other states, rather.
Test results are pending on a Marine base now at Twentynine Palms, California. He and his roommates are confirmed to -- or confined, rather, to quarters in the meantime. Texas is reporting the first known swine flu death just outside Mexico. And that death is a Mexican toddler who was actually visiting his relatives. Health officials call the death tragic but not unexpected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID PERSSE, DIRECTOR, HOUSTON EMS: We know with the seasonal flu that -- and let's remember that in the United States every year, between 36,000 and 40,000 Americans die with the seasonal flu, what we consider a flu that we're, you know, oddly enough, comfortable with. And that flu, when you look at the folks that die from that, they tend to be those that are high-risk patients. Those would be the elderly, the very young, especially like the young who have complicated medical problems.
And, you know, this was a very young child. So, again, as tragic as it is, the flu seems to be -- this particular flu we're talking about, at least so far, seems to be following the same pattern as the seasonal flu.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Illinois doesn't have any confirmed infections, at least just yet, but an elementary school in Chicago is shut down anyway. A student there is suspected to have caught swine flu.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY MASON, CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: The confirmatory tests for this particular child will be sent to CDC today. We hope to have a confirmatory test within the next 24 to 36 hours to confirm the presence of the swine flu virus.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) health of that child now?
MASON: Parents should not be alarmed, but they should be prepared. The main thing that we do is continue with our messaging that we've done all along, and that is to make certain that if children are sick, keep them home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, you might have heard similar advice from President Obama. He said that any school with one or more confirmed or even suspected swine flu cases ought to consider closing.
