Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Dallas Nurse with Ebola "Clinically Stable" After Transfusion; Obama Meets With World Defense Chiefs; American Shot Dead In Saudi Arabia; Nurses Say They Lack Ebola Training; New Photos Of Kim Jong-Un Released

Aired October 14, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

ANA CABRERA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: We'll be following. Andy Scholes, thank you.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, we're tracking two big stories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: Stopping Ebola is hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: A Dallas nurse and her dog in isolation this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there is that fear factor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Her friends and neighbors voicing concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am taking comfort in the fact that she is reported to be in stable condition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: We're walking through CDC procedures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right there, one possible exposure and over here on my neck one possible exposure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Are health care workers safe?

Plus, the bombardment of ISIS rages on, but are the airstrikes working? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't stopped them yet. The airstrikes were supposed to stop them, they didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The brutal militants closing in on two key cities fighting fire with fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three ISIS car bombs may have gone off, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: We're live on the ground in Iraq and Syria. Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Hello again and thanks for being here. I'm Ana Cabrera in for Carol Costello. This morning, the CDC is rethinking what needs to be done to stop the spread of Ebola after a Dallas nurse contracted the deadly virus.

The "Associated Press" is reporting Nurse Nina Pham was one of about 70 staff members at the Dallas hospital who cared for Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan. Duncan, who was from Liberia, died last week, he was, of course, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S.

Now, as for Pham, the 26-year-old nurse is listed as clinically stable, so that's good news. We know she's already received a blood transfusion from American Ebola survivor, Dr. Kent Brantly.

Now, the CDC chief and other officials briefed President Obama yesterday on Pham's case. He's been in constant contact with the health officials and the federal health agency is also now flooding Dallas with more personnel and resources.

One new approach being considered this morning is whether nurses and other medical workers should be sprayed with a disinfectant after leaving a patient's room before removing their protective gear. After all, officials say Pham was wearing the gear but still became infected.

CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is outside the hospital in Dallas with where Pham works and is now being treated - Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, the doctors and nurses who are treating these Ebola patients, they are the heroes in this unprecedented outbreak.

Now as we know, Nina Pham, has become infected, but she did receive an experimental blood transfusion very soon after becoming ill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COHEN (voice-over): This morning, doctors in Dallas anxious to see if a blood transfusion may save the life of a critical care nurse, Nina Pham, the first person to contract Ebola within the U.S. She cared for the now deceased Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan.

Pham received the donation from Ebola survivor, Dr. Kent Brantly on Monday, the hope that his blood may provide key antibodies to fight the disease.

PHONG TRAN, FAMILY FRIEND: Everybody should ask to help us to give over this and I know in the long run she will help a lot of people.

COHEN: The 26-year-old is one of around 70 hospital staffers who cared for Duncan, according to the "Associated Press." The AP reports they reached that number after being given Duncan's medical records by his family. The CDC says they're still working to compile a list of health care workers who came into contact with Duncan.

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: If this one individual was infected and we don't know how, within the isolation unit, then it is possible that other individuals could have been infected as well.

COHEN: An official with direct knowledge of the investigation tells CNN that CDC detectives who interviewed the nurse several times believe there are, quote, "inconsistencies in the type of gear the nurse used, how she put it on and took it off." But fellow nurses say Pham was always careful.

JENNIFER JOSEPH, FORMER COLLEAGUE OF NINA PHAM: Knowing Nina, she's one of the most meticulous, thorough, effective nurses, like she taught me infection control and hand hygiene and protocol. I learned so much of that from her.

COHEN: State and federal health officials are still unsure how Pham was infected, but they say it may be time to reexamine Ebola safety protocols.

FRIEDEN: We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control.

COHEN: Officials even considering moving patients to special containment hospitals. This as Ebola fear escalates amid international flights into the U.S. Shortly after landing in Boston Monday, a hazmat team boarded an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai and removed five passengers presenting flu-like symptoms. After examination, officials determined none of the five met the criteria for Ebola and none of them came from West Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Now, hundreds of health care workers have become infected with Ebola, even though, they were wearing protective clothing. What this tells us, Ana, it is very difficult to do this protective clothing completely carefully, even if you are careful, even if you are meticulous. Not to get too graphic. Ebola patients put out so much fluids that the gear could become very contaminated very quickly. CABRERA: Right. We showed Sanjay's demonstration in our last hour. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for your update and staying on top of it there in Dallas.

Now the battle against ISIS another big story, it's getting more difficult. Right now, ISIS fighters appear to be making advances around the key border town of Kobani. Kurdish fighters are warning it may be impossible at this point to prevent ISIS from overrunning the town if current conditions hold.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Iraq, ISIS fighters are just within eight to ten miles from the Baghdad airport. The terrorist group currently controls about 80 percent of that territory in Anbar Province, which is just west of Baghdad.

All of this happening as President Obama prepares to meet with military leaders from around the world to discuss military strategy today. Let's bring in CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. We are also joined by CNN military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Barbara, I want to start with you. We are hearing there are 20 other countries that are going to be at the table today. What are the expectations of this meeting?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was actually called by the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, the fourth such meeting that these defense chiefs have had, but this is the largest gathering today.

Don't look for change in strategy, but what they're going to talk about we are told is the way ahead, more coordination, more updates on how the strategy is going, what they want to do, how they want to achieve that.

The Syrian opposition fighters will not be there. This is simply for sovereign nations. But the Iraqi military officials will be there and one of the big challenges is right now no matter how many airstrikes you do over Iraq.

You are not going to roll ISIS back unless Iraqi forces on the ground can get moving and effectively fight against them. That may be one of the big issues of discussion today -- Ana.

CABRERA: Barbara, thank you. General Hertling, as Barbara just pointed out, no representatives from Syria will be at that table with this meeting today talking strategy. It seems that the Obama administration is sort of had an Iraq-first perspective on this. How worrisome is it that ISIS is within eight to ten miles from Baghdad?

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's going to be critical, Ana, because they are going to try to lay siege to Baghdad and make the Iraqi government continue to be concerned about their capital while they are continuing to consolidate within Anbar Province and also continue the offensive in the north. So in my view it's a three-pronged approach. If you have the central government of Iraq just concerned about surviving and protecting their capital city, it's going to be much tougher for them to generate the nonsectarian requirements that they need to get their army back on its feet to fight and conduct counterattacks.

CABRERA: Clearly airstrikes aren't doing the job. They have not held back ISIS. They continue to advance. Do you expect a change in strategy today?

HERTLING: No, I don't, Ana. I think the airstrikes -- many will say they're not having their effects. I would beg to differ. I think they are putting ISIS on their heels, they are certainly destroying -- we've seen reports of what has been destroyed.

But, remember, the real strategy of the Obama administration has been to attempt to regain ground in Iraq whereas at the same time you're attempting to go after targets in Syria. So in one case it's a force- oriented approach, in the other place it's a terrain oriented approach. That's critically important as to how we look at this fight.

CABRERA: Let's focus on what's happening there along the Syria-Turkey border in the town of Kobani where we now know ISIS militants have taken the town. Some of the Kurdish fighters on the ground saying it could be impossible to hold on soon.

We know over the weekend, U.S. officials said Turkey finally agreed to allow the U.S. access to its air bases, but then Turkey's sort of reneged on that deal yesterday. Why do you think that is?

HERTLING: Well, it's certainly because the Kurdish forces in those areas, the Kurdish fighters in those areas are primarily members of the YPG, which is a foe of Turkey. Turkey doesn't mind some of the things going on in Syria. They want to go after Bashar Al-Assad.

They don't want to just provide these kinds of attacks against ISIS in this area. So I think what you'll have to watch very closely in the near future is what happens in Kobani. Can the Kurdish fighters in that region continue to hold off?

I think they can with some resupply and they're getting some of that. But if they don't, what will happen next? What will be the strategy of the ISIL at that point? Will they go to the northwest, toward Aleppo? Will they go toward the northeast toward other Kurdish cities along the Turkey boarder? It will be a critical approach to watch.

CABRERA: As we've been seeing the standoff so to speak, with Turkey, do you think the U.S. and the coalition is making a mistake by not dealing with Assad at the same time it's going after ISIS?

HERTLING: Well, you're inserting yourself into a civil war then, Ana, and I think that's contentious as well. We've already seen when someone is replaced without someone taking that place.

So I think the Free Syrian Army has the potential for defeating Assad, but it will take a lot more training to get them to that point. You don't want to have a regime change without someone there to take their place and that's the critical question we have to keep asking. Who will take Assad's place if he is overthrown?

CABRERA: All right, General Mark Hertling, thank for your expertise. We appreciate you spending time with us today.

Breaking news, an American citizen has been killed now in Saudi Arabia after an unidentified attacker opened fire at a gas station according to the Saudi press agency. The incident occurred in the capital city of Riyadh.

Now, there's a second American involved, also wounded, taken to a hospital there. Police say there was a gun fire exchange of some sort, the gunman was wounded and was taken into custody.

The attack however is still under investigation, the motive and all that is being figured out. We'll bring you more details as soon as we have them. We'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: They are on the front lines of the fight against Ebola here in the U.S. I'm talking about the nurses asked to treat patients infected with this deadly virus. Now a startling new survey from the National Nurses' Union is raising questions about the training they are receiving.

Eighty five percent of nurses in this survey say their hospital has not provided Ebola education or training and one-third say their hospitals either have insufficient supplies of eye protection or fluid-resistant gowns.

This survey is released as the CDC claims a protocol breach is responsible for the infection of this Texas nurse, Nina Pham. Pam Cipriano, is president of the American Nurses Association, a professional organization with over three million members and is joining me from Charlottesville, Virginia. Pam, how do you respond to the CDC's claim?

PAM CIPRIANO, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION: Well, we don't really know for sure exactly how the nurse became infected in Dallas and we are very concerned we learn the best techniques and can address any kind of potential risk for any worker to be exposed.

We're very concern for those in the field that might be transporting individuals as well as patients coming to our emergency departments that are cared for in hospitals. We believe we've got the best information that we know right now coming from the CDC.

And the American Nurses Association, which represents the interest of all registered nurses in this country, is really advocating that individuals stay up to date on those procedures, that they work with their institutions to have the personal protective equipment.

That they have a buddy system and that they are consistently paying attention to the most accurate way that they can put on and take off that protective equipment.

CABRERA: Do nurses have enough training?

CIPRIANO: Well, what we're finding right now as many organizations are starting with a phased in plan, those who are going to first- encounter patients, so it might be the outpatient departments as well as the emergency departments are working on making sure that all the staff know how to appropriately screen a patient.

So that if someone does identify as a risk for Ebola that they are immediately isolated. In addition, then, those areas that high-risk patient would go to are getting the initial training that will then fan out throughout the organization.

So organizations may have hundreds to thousands of individuals that they need to educate about the issues, about the protective equipment. And so they are systematically going about that now to be sure that everyone who could potentially be in harm's way get this is education and knows how to perform in the clinical setting.

CABRERA: We saw protests and people speaking out, really outrage from some nurses involved in one of the unions, United Nations United. Do you think that that outrage that they feel is justified?

CIPRIANO: You know, I think it's important that we have raised the awareness of how critical this issue. It's not a time, though, for fear. It's really a time for a people to be very level headed, to pay attention to the information.

We look forward to any new findings from the Centers for Disease Control that might give us new techniques or additional safety measures about how the use the equipment.

And so I think this is a time to pull together, make sure that we are in touch with organizations, if the staff believes they are not adequately prepared or don't have the equipment they do need to speak up. I think there are resources like there -- in addition to their administration or their state nurse's association where they can get information and get support in that effort.

CABRERA: Just quickly, how do you grade the CDC's response to this Ebola crisis?

CIPRIANO: I think the CDC is doing a very good job. I think we can't second guess these experts that are not only USA experts, but really are respected around the world. I believe they have been rapidly putting out information as quickly as they know it.

I think they are obviously under a lot of stress. Today there's another educational webinar conference at 2:00 this afternoon. The American Nurses Association has been advising nurses around the country to please tune.

Again, it's really important to stay up to date on the findings we're learning and we trust the experts at CDC.

CABRERA: All right, Pam Cipriano, thank you for joining us.

CIPRIANO: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: Still to come, Kim Jong-un sighting. Not seen for a month, now he's seen in pictures like that with a cane.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Checking top stories, we want to begin with something just into CNN. Mark Zuckerberg, of course, CEO of Facebook, is donating $25 million to help fight Ebola.

He just posted to his Facebook page that he and his wife will make the donation to the CDC saying, quote, "We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so it doesn't spread further and become a long-term global health crisis that we end up fighting for decades at a large scale like HIV or polio. And we are hopeful this will help save lives and get this outbreak under control."

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair may have been the target of a terror plot. Prosecutors at a trial that opens today in London say the suspect planned either an attack on a high profile figure -- perhaps Blair -- or a massive attack such as the one in Mumbai, India, six years ago.

Crude oil prices are plummeting. The national average for gas is about $3.20 a gallon, down 7 cents from last week. Experts point to a split among OPEC nations suggesting this could lead to a price war and maybe even lower prices further at the pump.

Kim Jong-Un is back and with something he has not been seen with before -- a cane. North Korean state media has just released these new photos of Jim. We're still not sure how new these pictures really are but CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea, and is looking into it for us.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, North Korea is very keen to show that Kim Jong-Un is back and he is in control.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): With a smile and a walking stick, North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un is on the front page of the country's newspaper Tuesday doing what he does best -- giving field guidance. No date given for the visit or the photos, but this should quell some rumors about where he's been for the past five weeks.

Before disappearing, state media admitted he was feeling discomfort, but it may be more than that according to the personal doctor to his grandfather and familiar with the medical history of his father Kim Jong-Il. She said both suffered diabetes, heart problems and stress.

"There are a lot of psychological problems that he inherited" she tells me" and there's a history of obesity. But what's more serious I think he was artificially made to look that way to look like Kim - Dr. Kim suspects he has hormone shots to make him look more like his grandfather, the founder of North Korea, a man many North Koreans still have a fund memory of. She also believe Kim Jong-Un's face is swollen due to painkillers.

And his reappearance may be temporary, forced by the intense worldwide scrutiny on his disappearance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: There were more news bulletins throughout the day than they usually are, each of them showing these photos of Kim Jong-Un seemingly back at work not just for an international audience probably, but also a domestic audience to show the people of North Korea that their leader, even if he's not complete health, is seemingly in complete control -- Ana.

CABRERA: Thanks to Paula Hancocks.

Still to come, blood of jihad, that's the name of a stunning new ISIS propaganda video that shows how far terrorists are willing to go on the battlefield. Up next, reveal not guilty details about the group's tactic and training.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Good morning and thank you for joining me. I'm Ana Cabrera sitting in for Carol Costello. Glad to have you with me. After weeks of punishing airstrikes by coalition forces, ISIS fighters continue to gain ground in the Middle East.

This morning the terrorist group is tightening its grip around the key Turkish border town of Kobani, Syria, despite the fierce fighting from the Kurdish troops on the ground and even though, the administration vowed to degrade and destroy ISIS. Doing that maybe harder than it sounds.