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Ebola Crisis Response; ISIS Threatens American Aid Worker; North Korean Leaders Visit South Korea; ISIS Targets Key Border Town; People Arrest More Hong Kong Protesters; White House Reacts To Ebola Crisis; Manziel Wants To Help Winston; New Search For Malaysia Flight 370

Aired October 04, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hello everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield -- the 11:00 Eastern hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.

Health officials have narrowed of the list of people they say are at higher risk of catching ebola after coming in contact with a Liberian man in Dallas, Texas. Members of the Obama Administration say they are ready to respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to emphasize that the United States is prepared to deal with this crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And overseas, ISIS is threatening the life of an American aid worker. We'll show you how he ended up in harm's way.

We begin with the threat of ebola. There is no outbreak in the U.S. but health officials in Dallas say about 10 people are at higher risk of catching it. The group had some sort of contact with this Liberian man in Dallas who has ebola. Thomas Duncan is in serious condition at a Dallas hospital at this hour. He's the first person diagnosed with ebola in the United States.

Hazmat crews are cleaning the apartment he stayed in while he was sick. It's his girlfriend's apartment. She and her family had been quarantined there with his contaminated clothes and sheets for days. Officials relocated the family to an undisclosed home yesterday.

Meanwhile the U.S. could send up to 4,000 troops to the African countries that are dealing with the ebola outbreak. Liberia is one of three nations in Africa that is battling the virus. It has killed more than 3,000 people.

Ahead this hour Dr. Marshall Lyon (ph) will answer your ebola questions. Tweet them to us at CNN using the #ebolaqanda. And we'll get as many questions possible on the air posed to the doctor.

All right. Let's right now go to CNN's Nick Valencia in Dallas. So Nick, the Dallas hospital where Duncan is being treated is taking some heat today. They are accused of mishandling Duncan's first visit there eight days ago. Now he's being treated there, of course. And we haven't seen them publicly come out and even give details of his condition or how he's being treated.

What are you learning there?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest word is that he still is in serious condition. But as you mention we are still waiting for an update today about the latest details involving Thomas Duncan.

Getting back to those missteps, Fred, Dallas county health officials have acknowledged missteps. In fact it is front page news today on "Dallas Morning News" that they acknowledge this missteps and said that they could have done things a little better early on in the process. They also said though that they sure have done a lot of things right and that the public should not lose confidence in them. That they have a strong health infrastructure here and they also have the resources to treat Duncan -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Now, the D.A. and the Liberian Airport Authority could be pressing charges against Duncan. Explain on what grounds both entities feel like there is merit to do so.

VALENCIA: Yes, a couple of days ago we heard from the Liberian Airport Authority that there was a chance that Duncan could have falsified his health screening test before he got on that flight to the United States. On those forms they're asked -- passengers are asked if they've ever come in contact with somebody who had ebola. As we know from reports, it is reported that Duncan helped a pregnant woman who was suffering from the disease and who later died. That this could be an explanation as to how he actually contracted the disease.

But they are saying that could be grounds to prosecute him. The Liberian Airport Authority says if he ever makes it back to Liberia that is a possibility. Also the local district attorney here, saying that that is a strong chance as well -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Valencia in Dallas, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

All right. The U.S. had never been in a situation quite like this before. So how is the White House trying to show the ebola virus is under control especially after mistakes being made there? We'll have that coming up.

And he volunteered to help the desperate in Syria. And now a video shows ISIS has beheaded British medic Alan Henning. In the video released Friday, ISIS blames Henning's death on the U.K. joining the coalition air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. Henning's murder is steeling the British government's resolve to defeat the terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Anyone in any doubt about this organization can now see how truly repulsive it is and barbaric it is as an organization. And as a country what we must do with our allies is everything we can to defeat this organization in the region but also to defeat it at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Henning's family issued this statement saying, quote, "It is the news we hoped we would never hear. As a family we are devastated by the news of his death. There are few words to describe how we feel at this moment. Myself, Lucy and Adam and all of Alan's family and friends are numb with grief."

Henning is the fourth Westerner ISIS has beheaded on video.

And the way the ISIS video ended, American Peter Kassig may become the fifth Westerner to die at the terrorists' hands. A masked captor threatens the Indiana man's life saying his death will be President Obama's fault. Like Alan Henning, Peter Kassig went to the Middle East to help victims of war.

Here is Emily Longnecker from our Indianapolis affiliate, WTHR.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY LONGNECKER, REPORTER, WTHR INDIANAPOLIS: Back home from serving in Iraq with the Army Rangers in 2007, Peter Kassig decided studying political science at Butler University was the next route to take. He started there in the spring of 2011.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't get any do-overs.

LONGNECKER: Kassig though would later tell a CNN reporter in Lebanon a year later while doing humanitarian work something just didn't feel right to him during his time at college. The Indiana native wanted something more -- a sense of purpose.

PETER KASSIG, ISIS HOSTAGE: I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic and I'm an idealist and I believe in hopeless causes.

LONGNECKER: So Kassig trained as an emergency medical technician telling CNN during that time he was looking for a game changer in life. He found it on spring break from Butler in 2012 doing humanitarian work in the Middle East.

KASSIG: You know, like it's sad what is happening to people here. Sometimes you got to take a stand, you know, like you've got to draw a line somewhere.

LONGNECKER: Kassig's stand for those suffering the ravages of war and his now life and death situation drew this statement from his former school Butler University Friday. Quote, "Since his time at Butler Peter has dedicated his life to humanitarian work in the Middle East. The thoughts and prayers of the Butler University community are with Peter and his family."

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: And some usual diplomacy happening right now in South Korea today -- top officials from North Korea made a surprise visit, the first such high level trip in years. Meanwhile North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un remains mysteriously out of sight.

Here is CNN's Paula Hancocks.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This visit was both surprising and significant. The man who's considered to be second in command in North Korea after the leader Kim Jong-Un popped down to South Korea for a last-minute visit.

Hwang Pyong-so is a vice marshal in the military and he was accompanied by two more very high level officials in North Korea. Now on the face of it, they were here to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games. The North Korean delegation met the South Korean Unifications ministers and national security chief and the Prime Minister. President Park Geun-Hye also apparently said she was meet them but officials said there was no time. The North Korean media has been particularly damning and cussing of the President since she took power.

The North Koreans agreed to another (inaudible) of high-level talks at the end of this month or the start of the next month. One well- respected North Korean observer, Andre Lankoff (ph) tells me he can't remember such a high-level delegation from the North coming to the South in decades.

Now it shows that Kim Jong-Un although absent for more than a month is still very much in charge. It is assumed that the North Korean leader is in poor health or is having health issues. The statement of media has said that he has quote, "discomfort" but experts say that the fact that we seeing three of the top officials in North Korea coming down to what is technically enemy territory to talk peace shows there is a high level of stability in the North.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, we've got answers to your ebola questions. The doctor who treated Kent Brantly, the first ebola patient flown to the U.S. in August joins me to share his expertise.

And next as coalition forces step up air strikes against ISIS, how is the terror group responding?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There has been another brutal killing of a Western hostage by ISIS. This time it was the beheading of a British aid worker Alan Henning. And once against the terror group has released a video showing the killing. Henning was kidnapped in Syria the day after Christmas and is the fourth Western captive killed by ISIS since August.

British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted that he met with his security chiefs this morning. He said Britain and his allies will go after Henning's killers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMERON: As a country what we must do with our allies is everything we can to defeat this organization in the region but also to defeat it at home. And we must do everything we can to hunt down and find the people who are responsible for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: ISIS also continues to target the town of Kobani along the Turkish border. Earlier today, coalition airstrikes targeted several areas including the area around Kobani.

Barbara Starr is watching developments from the Pentagon.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Fred, everyone watching and waiting to see what comes next in the fight against ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Under siege for days, ISIS fighters who have been battling these Kurdish forces, may now control part of the see Syrian border town of Kobani. The fighting has been raging for days as the Kurds try to defend their city from the ISIS advance.

As tens of thousands of Syrian refugees flee north to the nearby Turkish border trying to escape the ISIS advance, the new wild card -- the Turkish military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Introducing Turkish forces on the ground in northern Syria would be a major change in what is going on there. Now you would have a professional army dealing with ISIS, something they have never had to face.

STARR: The Turkish parliament has authorized military action, something the U.S. had been urging. But Turkey's role, airstrikes or ground troops is still uncertain.

The Pentagon says it's watching the fight in Kobani but its airstrikes are targeted elsewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The locus of energy in Syria thus far has really been about getting at their sustainment capability, about their ability to use Syria as a sanctuary and a safe haven that. Doesn't mean that we are going to turn a blind eye to what's going on at Kobani or anywhere else for that matter.

STARR: The latest coalition airstrikes in Syria destroying an ISIS garrison, two tanks, small oil refineries, a training camp and an occupied building.

U.S. officials say ISIS fighters are reacting to the airstrikes, staying off cell phones, no longer moving around in large convoys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They certainly are changing the way they communicate. And it's harder for them to do so because of the changes they've made in that regard. We've seen them change some of their tactics, not surprisingly, have gotten better at concealment.

STARR: ISIS released this video showing what it says is the scene of a coalition airstrike. This English speaking fighter taunting the coalition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not bombing that state soldiers. You are just bombing the schools and the hospitals.

STARR: CNN could not independently verify the video.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: U.S. officials say the fighting continues to grow near Fallujah in Iraq where ISIS militants still are very much on the advance -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much Barbara Starr.

So have the coalition's efforts along the border been effective? Let me bring in CNN military analyst, Lt. Gen. Mark Hurdling. He's a former commanding general in the U.S. army and he joins me now from Orlando. Good to see you.

LT. GEN. MARK HURDLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning -- Fredricka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm great. So you just saw in that piece from Barbara Starr that one ISIS fighter who is essential saying you are really not hurting us. What you are doing is damaging the infrastructure here, the schools and the residences. So at what point are you able to tell whether these airstrikes are helping the Kurds hold on to and protect Kobani.

HURDLING: Well, that final piece was a page out of the terrorist playbook. Whenever they are struck and struck hard they immediately go into the "Hey you are not hurting us. You're killing civilians, you're bombing schools and hospitals and things like that." It's typical.

And unfortunately we have some pretty good proof that we have in fact had some significant effects on ISIS fighters both in Syria and Iraq. As you heard Barbara say at the end there, you know, they are changing their ways of operation. They are not communicating on cell phones. They're not moving as much. All of those things are the first page of what we in the military call the beginning of the culminations of the offense.

You will start seeing continued slow downs. You will start seeing them to continue to group in smaller packages and all of that is a precursor to being able to strike them harder as both the Iraqi army improves and the Syrian Free Army improves.

WHITFIELD: But it also sounds like you are painting the picture that it is more difficult to spot them if they're breaking up into smaller groups -- harder to identify them.

HURDLING: Fredricka -- extremely difficult; they are now intermingling more with the population. Now, remember, you know, the town we are talking about Kobani is a relatively small border post. It is an important border post to them. It's operationally significant. Just like the city of Rabia in Iraq is, just like the harbor gate because these are the areas where they bring foreign fighters in, jihadis in. And it's also not talked often about the places that they export their fraudulent oil and their corrupt oil to get more money.

So those border posts in and out of Syria, in and out of Iraq are critically important for bringing jihadis in and exporting and getting more funding. So what you are talking about is a small town -- a town of about 40,000 about as big as Fairfax City in Washington, D.C. And you're talking about a continued fight with Syrian Kurds which there is whole another complex problem given the Turks now want to come in.

And as Rick Francona said in the piece, about 650,000 professional soldiers in that Turkish army with a lot of tanks and a lot of artillery -- it's critical that they start playing in this fight.

WHITFIELD: So do you see the Turks potentially playing in a ground forces kind of way or just as you mentioned, you know, would they have tanks, et cetera -- would they also be involved by air?

HURDLING: Well, the Turks have always been contentious in this area because they have a whole bunch of national priorities that don't quite fit in with what our national priorities are and they have a problem with the Kurds both in Iraq and in Syria. The Kurds want a space and the Turks see that as an incursion into Turkish space.

So I think, you know, the Turks are going to have to eventually choose between an extremely violent terrorist organization to their south and the potential of working a little closer with the Kurds to provide security. So they are really caught on the horns of dilemma. Their parliament voted last week in terms of them sending forces but they haven't identified yet what it is.

And again, you're talking about General Allen moving through the area, retired General Allen who knows this area very well and who understands how to get the uprising of the Sunni population and the Kurdish population in Iraq. All that is going to contribute to that culmination of the ISIS force eventually.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lt. Gen. Mark Hurdling, thanks so much for your expertise this morning.

HURDLING: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Many of you have been tweeting your ebola questions to #ebolaqanda. Well next we re have an infectious disease specialist from the Emory School of Medicine here to answer your questions up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: This morning many of you have been tweeting questions about ebola to us here at CNN. #ebolaqanda.

Dr. Marshall Lyon is an infectious disease specialist at Emory University. And back in August he treated Dr. Kent Brantly when he was the first ebola patient to be flown back to the U.S. for treatment Emory University Hospital.

Dr. Lyon is going to be with us throughout the hour to answer your questions about that. So before we get to some of those questions, let me ask you about Thomas Duncan and the treatment he is likely receiving in Texas, in Dallas. Of course, he didn't get the Z-Mapp like Dr. Brantly and even Ms. Writebol received before receiving treatment at Emory University Hospital.

There was another patient who was getting treatment in Nebraska. He had a transfusion from Dr. Brantly. What's different about Mr. Thomas Duncan's case and treatment?

DR. MARSHALL LYON, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Well, my understanding is the mainstay of treatment is supportive care. So making sure that the fluid balance is correct. With a lot of vomiting and diarrhea this can be tough to manage. Making sure that the electrolytes or the salt balance is maintained. Correcting any bleeding orders that might happen and making sure that the blood product -- so platelets, red blood cells are in balance as well and don't get too low. That is the primary focus of it.

The question of experimental treatments like Dr. Brantly and Nancy Writebol got. You know, whether those are available or not -- I don't know at this point in time whether they are available to Presbyterian Hospital.

WHITFIELD: So when we hear from the White House yesterday where we had a number of representatives of various public healthcare for the U.S. say that every hospital in the country has the potential for isolation care. If a patient were to be diagnosed with ebola, they can go to any hospital in the country and receive the right kind of care and isolation without putting other patients in jeopardy?

LYON: They should. Hospitals all across the country can isolate patients for any number of reasons. We isolate them for different organisms -- tuberculosis, chickenpox, MRSA -- those are things that are probably fairly familiar to most public. But Ebola obviously is a little special but isolation principles are still in play and any hospital ought to be able to implement those.

WHITFIELD: Ok. So let's now entertain some of those questions coming from our viewers. First one being, "If someone with ebola has been somewhere before you, say a plane or a bathroom, how long can ebola live on a surface?"

LYON: Despite the severe disease that ebola can cause in humans it is a really wimpy virus it. It does not last for very long on environmental surfaces at all. So at most -- 30 to 60 minutes before it is dead. WHITFIELD: So why is it so lethal then?

LYON: Well, it's lethal because of what it does inside the body and the body's response to the virus. As the immune system ramps up it releases a lot of these things called cytokines, and those cytokines are what cause fever, leaky blood vessels, drop in blood pressure and that is why it's so fatal.

WHITFIELD: The other question from a viewer that was tweeted to us, "What kills the virus?"

LYON: Alcohol kills the virus, soap and water.

WHITFIELD: You mean like a rubbing alcohol.

LYON: Yes. Or those like, you know, no endorsement here, Purell, those hand antiseptics, soap and water will kill it, bleach kills the virus. It's actually pretty easy to kill.

WHITFIELD: And those seem like things that are very accessible here in the States and perhaps why in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, there was a lack of that kind of supply and so that helped with the spread?

LYON: Absolutely and not every place has running water in those countries that you just mentioned whereas here in the United States, we have running water all over the place. We also have soap and bleach and alcohol hand rubs are very accessible to most Americans. Not accessible in West Africa.

WHITFIELD: And another question that we received via tweet. "When do ebola symptoms start? And what are they?"

LYON: Ebola symptoms typically start anywhere from -- we say the range is 2 to 21 days. Most often it is 6-11, 6-12 days in that range after exposure. And the most common symptoms up front are fever and headache and muscle aches -- so very nondescript. Many people describe this as flu like. However you have to have that exposure to someone who's had ebola. So for the vast majority of Americans, if they develop a fever at this point in time, no exposure to someone with ebola.

WHITFIELD: I think that is why so many are nervous because a lot of the symptoms you describe sound like it could be a cold, it could be a flu, it could be any number of viruses that people are typically used to. Especially as we enter the fall and winter months.

LYON: Absolutely. And that exposure is key. And it has to be someone who is sick with ebola. The person who has ebola is not infectious until they develop symptoms. And there is not secondary transmission, like I know someone who knows someone who had ebola. That is not being exposed.

WHITFIELD: It has to be direct.

LYON: Direct exposure. WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Marshall Lyon, thanks so much. We're

going to be back a little bit later on in the hour. He is going to answer more questions that are coming in via tweet. Remember you can tweet your questions for Dr. Lyon to #ebolaqanda and we'll try to get on as many as we can. Thanks so much.

On to Washington right now. They're calling ebola a crisis. We'll go live to the White House to get the federal response to the threat, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here's some of the other big stories making news right now.

Health officials say about ten people out of a group of 50 in Texas are at a higher risk of catching Ebola. They came into contact with the Liberian man hospitalized in Dallas. On Tuesday, a blood test revealed he had Ebola making him the first diagnosed case in the U.S. We expect to get an update from the CDC in about 30 minutes.

And a fire in Shanksville, Pennsylvania may have damaged artifacts from September 11th. It's not known how the fire started in the headquarters of the memorial to the United Airlines Flight 93. This is new video from a viewer whose says his father was working on a nearby construction sight and spotted the fire and reported it to his supervisor. Investigators are now assessing the damage.

And thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators are still flooding Hong Kong's central district. At least 20 people have been arrested in clashes so far and in the seven days of protest, more than 150 people have been injured. Students have called off talks with government officials.

CNN's Will Ripley is there on the scene. So Will, Hong Kong leaders have laid down another ultimatum. Protesters have to clear out by Monday or else. So what happens if they don't leave?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They face a real dilemma, Fred, because thousands of people continue to come here essentially creating gridlock, chaos whatever you want to call it around the city. This is a highway that you are looking at.

But for the past week, it's been full of these protesters. Government employees had to stay home on Friday because they couldn't get to work. The Hong Kong government knows that they need to get the city moving again, but if they try to use police force as they did last weekend.

When pepper spray was used on some of these student protesters that only caused the size of the crowds to increase. So their options would either be large scale police operation or the insights that we are getting from a source familiar with the Hong Kong government is they may try to wait this out and see if these crowds will dissipate. But Fred, you see from the size of these crowds, as people continue to come here, whether they will dissipate or not, that is the open question.

WHITFIELD: And then Will, what is the Hong Kong government saying about the clashes that did happen last night?

RIPLEY: Well, you know, there was a clash right here on the pedestrian bridge where I'm standing. I can show you this is the area where uniformed police officers, dozens of them, marched and actually forced their way through a barricade that the protesters set up.

At the site of the uniformed officers, all of the crowd, Fred, that was gathered in the street all ran towards this area. They started shouting in unison, police, police. It really did create chaos.

That is a PR disaster for the Hong Kong government and it's very concerning as well for the Beijing government because the pictures that are coming out of Hong Kong, Beijing, the same source tells us is very concerned that this type of a movement could spread to other Chinese cities.

WHITFIELD: All right, Will Ripley, thanks so much. Keep us posted.

All right, now to the latest on the first diagnosed case of the Ebola in the U.S. For the first time, the Obama administration is calling it a crisis. Officials are monitoring 10 people considered at high risk after coming into contact with the Liberian man who is fighting for his life in a Dallas hospital.

Erin McPike is at the White House for us. So how are they reacting to the fact that we now this active case and quarantined in the U.S. involving his family members, people who were in contact with that man in Dallas.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said yesterday that the administration is working with hospitals nationwide to ensure that they know exactly how to handle potential cases.

The CDC has issued guidelines and issued updates to those guidelines six times and in each case then in turn is reported to the CDC. Now for the American public, the administration is trying to tamp down the fears about Ebola.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE (voice-over): With alarm growing over a potential Ebola outbreak in the U.S., President Obama sent out top officials to reassure the country.

LISA MONICO, HOMELAND SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER: The United States is prepared to deal with this crisis both at home and in the region.

DR. ANTHONY S. FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: Our healthcare infrastructure in the United States is well equipped to stop Ebola in its tracks.

MCPIKE: The White House trying to show it has the situation under control after heated criticism that local health officials in Dallas first sent Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan visiting from Liberia back home before his family brought him back. That gap between care causing concern the disease could spread.

FAUCI: There were things that did not go the way they should have in Dallas, but there are a lot of things that went right.

MCPIKE: Dr. Fauci says the CDC is tracing any contacts Duncan had essential to preventing an outbreak. But as of now, the Obama administration is not considering increased screening for passengers coming into the U.S. or banning travelers from hard hit nations in West Africa relying on screening by those countries.

MONACO: The most effective way to go about controlling this is to prevent those individuals from getting on a plane in the first place.

MCPIKE: Even as they sought to calm Americans concerns officials acknowledge they need to do more.

FAUCI: We're having a press conference because we need to get information out because there is a lot of fear.

SYLVIA BURWELL, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We cannot over communicate about this issue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: Officials also stressed that the healthcare systems in West Africa are grossly inadequate. And that is why the U.S. is sending thousands of troops and disaster workers and aid workers so that they can correct the problem at its source.

Now of course, they also as you heard there in that piece that the U.S. healthcare system should be able to handle any potential cases, but we should emphasize should because of what went wrong in Dallas -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike at the White House. Thanks so much.

All right, still ahead, Johnny Manziel might be changing his nickname from Johnny Football to Johnny Life Coach? Find out why in our "Bleacher Report" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about Ebola and answering some of your questions. Dr. Marshall Lyon is back. You have been sending, tweeting in your questions here at CNN at #Ebolaqanda.

Before we get to that, one more question about why U.S. hospitals would be better equipped to handle a patient diagnosed with Ebola? Because there are respirators, because there are IV fluid drips that will take place and because dialysis machines.

Now there is access to that. Those would help treat or give supportive care as you say to these patients, but it doesn't necessarily kill the virus. Why is it that some patients, their survival rate might be better than others, even with all of that equipment?

DR. MARSHALL LYON, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: You mean here in the United States?

WHITFIELD: In the United States.

LYON: Well, because of this immune system response that happens with Ebola virus. Some people have a very exuberant response and that can actually make you sicker before it makes you better. And if you get sick enough because of that, it may be quite difficult to actually keep someone live through that.

So even though we have respirators, it could be difficult to provide enough oxygen through those respirators. And, you know, also having the availability of blood products to transfuse someone if need be.

WHITFIELD: All right, so let's get to some of our questions that are coming from you at home. First question, would any bodily fluids this patient flushed contaminate the water system?

LYON: A good question. And actually -- the short answer is no because all of our waste treatment plants are designed to actually handle pathogens, which are much hardier than Ebola virus. So Ebola is easily killed by waste treatment options.

On the other side of that, water treatment system, when they get chlorinated, it would kill the Ebola virus as well.

WHITFIELD: Could the virus become airborne? Another question that's tweeted in.

LYON: No. This is not an airborne virus. This is transmitted by contact, direct contact or droplets. Large droplets that the patient may produce. Those droplets typically fall to the ground within about a six-foot radius of the patient.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then I'm traveling to Dallas, this is from another viewer, I'm travelling to Dallas soon, should I be worried?

LYON: Absolutely not. No. You should not be worried about traveling to Dallas. Anyone potentially exposed has been identified and is under observation at this point in time.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LYON: And so the virus will be contained in that hospital room within that ward and should not get outside of that hospital whatsoever.

WHITFIELD: If it's been reported by many health officials that Ebola has mutated. So many times, something like 40 times over a period of time, how do we know would it mutate and become air borne or perhaps change its impact on a person's body, meaning the symptoms would differ or evolve into something else, making it more difficult to spot, identify in other words.

LYON: Sure. So what's you are asking is would there be a big mutation? We see small mutations all the time. Influenza virus mutates every year, but it still is influenza virus. It still behaves the same way even though our immune systems don't recognize it as well as it had the previous season.

So these mutations that are happening in Ebola are very small mutations. They essentially mean that it might be variable enough that immune system doesn't recognize it if had been exposed to a different strain of Ebola virus.

So it is very unlikely that we are going to see a mutation large enough that this would suddenly become an airborne virus. It would have to become a different virus altogether essentially.

WHITFIELD: What should be the expectation when we hear that someone or a group of people has been quarantined or is under watch. We know that four people in contact, family members, friends, in contact with Mr. Duncan immediately have been moved from their apartment and now they are in quarantine in another location.

We hear about an NBC freelance photographer who is going to be flown tomorrow to the United States and he'll be under quarantine or treatment. And then we hear other members of his crew are flying back to the U.S. and will be under quarantine or watch.

What does that mean? What do we envision? I mean, will they will be held up in homes with their family members or will they be taken to certain facilities depending on their home base where they will be watched under the eye of medical professionals?

LYON: Correct. So quarantine or watch indicates that someone is being observed by medical professional, public health officials before they become symptomatic. Once you become symptomatic, then you would fall under treatment and would be at a medical care facility, not in your home, not in isolation.

They would be in isolation but not under self-isolation. So it is all before symptoms. Again, at the top of the hour, we talked about the incubation period being somewhere between two and 21 days at the far end of time.

And once those individuals have made it through 21 days without developing symptoms then they can be released from quarantine because they are not infected Ebola. So it is exposure and waiting to see if symptoms develop.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Marshall Lyon, thank you so much. Of course, we'll be addressing more of your Ebola questions throughout the day. So continue to tweet us at #Ebolaqanda. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, from one Heisman winner to another, a current NFL quarterback plans to reach out to Florida State superstar. Kristen Ledlow has more in today's "Bleacher Report." Good to see you. Welcome.

KRISTEN LEDLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you. It's quite the duo. As a Heisman winner and a national champion, very few know exactly what it's like to command the limelight like James Winston. Johnny Manziel maybe one of them.

Now he's had his own troubles off the field so the Cleveland Browns quarterback says he plans to reach out to Winston and offer some advice. Reportedly, NFL teams are growing wary of drafting Winston, despite his skill set and a 6'4", 240-pound size.

Manziel who won the Heisman back in 2012 says, quote, "The burden of following a Heisman bid is heavier than the trophy and that Winston should simply focus on football."

Now, yesterday, the Anaheim Ducks welcomed the friendly but fierce face to practice as two-time U.S. Olympic women's hockey player, Hillary Knight, took the ice. Knight is now believed to be the first non-goalie female to practice with a full NHL team.

She was met with a let's go, Hillary chant, at the Duck's practice facility and of course, she hopes to play in an NHL pre-season game one day. Night says, quote, "I'm one of those women who likes to push boundaries."

And now that he's taken his talents back home to Ohio, Lebron James is looking to sell the home that he had in South Florida. Yes, that one.

WHITFIELD: Looks like a hotel!

LEDLOW: The ten-time NBA all-star is going to be suiting up with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season and his former Miami mansion has been listed at $17 million. Now, this home here has more than 12,000 square feet of living space plus an infinity pool and a dock large enough for not one, but two 60-foot yachts.

WHITFIELD: That's gorgeous!

LEDLOW: You can put in your bid.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. Yes, I can express my interest, I just don't have it to follow up on that. Very good. Good to see you.

LEDLOW: You too. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: You'll have to let us know who and when a purchase takes place on that.

LEDLOW: I will.

WHITFIELD: OK. Meantime, the search is on back in the Indian Ocean for that missing Malaysian airliner. Are crews any closer to finding the plane more than six months now after it disappeared?

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WHITFIELD: Searchers are heading back to the Indian Ocean this weekend. They're looking for the Malaysian airliner that vanished back in March with 239 people on board. This time around, searchers are going deep beneath the ocean surface, with new technology. CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All through the thundering waves of winter, the ships have pressed on, across the Indian Ocean, pulsing out sonar signals and this is what they have to show for it.

The most detailed map ever of the seabed in this area, 16,000 square miles covered with crumbling underwater volcanos, winding valleys, plunging canyons, and just maybe the solution to a mystery.

The new map is not fine enough to show wreckage, but it is a wealth of information to guide underwater search vessels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tom, there makes a great deal of difference, because they'll be able to hold a tighter path, right above the ocean floor, knowing what's coming ahead of time, so they can go a little bit faster and get a lot more done in less time.

TUCHMAN: Before the search broke off earlier this year, much hope was pinned on the Blue Fin underwater search robot. It came up empty, but now with the new map, a much broader search with sonar is beginning.

Australian authorities remain convinced this arc is the right place to look, saying recent refinement to the analysis of satellite data about the plane's flight path has given greater certainty about when the aircraft turned south into the Indian Ocean.

And that gives them a better sense of where it ran out of fuel, most likely south of these submerged mountains called Broken Ridge. But --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to be very cautious about over predicting or overconfidence in those predictions that you make, or you'll end up exactly where you thought you would, but it may not be the right place.

TUCHMAN: Don't look for people scanning the surface for debris, those days are over. Now it is all about looking in some places nearly four miles beneath the waves. And once again, hoping for a break.

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TUCHMAN: The search is scheduled to last for about a year, and if they find the plane during that time, of course, it will be a huge step. But a big mystery still remains, whatever caused this plane to go down. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington. WHITFIELD: And CNN's Martin Savidge goes back to the beginning, retracing the key moments of Flight 370 and asking experts the questions we all want to know. Be sure to watch "Vanished: The Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370," this Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern.