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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Ebola Fears; ISIS Advancing; "Critical" 24 Hours for Spanish Nurse; Warning: Cops, Journalists Could be Targets

Aired October 13, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: A blistering letter from the husband of a nurse's aide who contracted Ebola, saying she never stood a chance.

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

The national lead, the Centers for Disease Control now rethinking ways to prepare the medical community for the Ebola virus after 26-year-old Nina Pham reportedly becomes the first person to contract Ebola inside the U.S. during this outbreak. Do the feds seem a little late to the game to you?

The world lead, ISIS now on Baghdad's doorstep, despite weeks of U.S. airstrikes. Can Iraqi troops who drop their weapons elsewhere keep their capital from collapsing?

And the buried lead, change in the Catholic Church, well, that can take centuries. That's why events going on right now are being called revolutionary. Could divorcees and gays and lesbians soon have a greater role in the church, in the eyes of the pope?

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to THE LEAD.

We're going to begin with some breaking news in the national lead. Yet another Ebola scare at a U.S. airport. Medical teams in hazmat suits, you see them there live, surrounding a jet on the tarmac at Boston's Logan Airport. Local reports say several passengers on the Emirates flight from Dubai became ill with flu-like symptoms. None came from West Africa, all this as President Obama called a high-level meeting to deal with the Ebola crisis as the deadly disease infects another American, a Dallas nurse who treated Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan before he succumbed to the virus last week.

The nurse has now been identified by our CNN affiliate WFAA as 26- year-old Nina Pham, a former Texas Christian University student. Pham now becomes another frightening first in this Ebola fight. She's the first American to contract Ebola on U.S. soil. She treated Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. She was wearing protective gear during her many visits with Duncan, including a gown, gloves, mask, an eye shield.

The head of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden, suggested over the weekend that there must have been some kind of safety breach for her to get infected. Many interpreted that as the CDC in effect blaming the victim, blaming someone on the front lines battling this epidemic. But earlier today, Dr. Frieden clarified that was not what he meant at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: The enemy here is a virus, Ebola. It's not a person. It's not a country. It's not a place. It's not a hospital. It's a virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now live from Dallas outside the hospital.

Elizabeth, do health officials have any idea yet how this nurse contracted the virus?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Jake, they don't. They say they may never know.

They say in general they think it could have to do with three things, one, that there may have been an inconsistency in the type of protective gear that she was wearing. Two, there may have been an inconsistency in the process of putting on that gear or, three, inconsistencies in the process of taking off that gear.

TAPPER: Elizabeth, more health care workers treated this man and followed the same protocols. How are they doing? Do we know anything about their status?

COHEN: So far, we haven't heard that anyone else is sick. And it's interesting, Jake. These health care workers were not being followed by health authorities. Nina Pham was caught because she took her own temperature.

Authorities thought, well, they were wearing protective gear so therefore how likely could it be that they would get sick? But now that someone's gotten sick, health authorities are following them and are giving them daily temperature checks.

TAPPER: This hospital in Dallas has been a huge focal point for obvious reasons. We have seen Americans diagnosed with Ebola in West Africa flown to other facilities, the ones that have the high-level biocontainment units in Atlanta and Nebraska. Why aren't we seeing patients in Texas being transferred to these other hospitals?

COHEN: To get a transfer, either the patient or her family would need to ask for it or the hospital would need to instigate. And from what we can tell, neither of those things have happened. Apparently, the patient, it seems, is OK being at this hospital and the hospital seems to be OK with her being at this hospital.

TAPPER: Elizabeth Cohen in Dallas, Texas, thank you so much.

Joining me now is Dr. John Carlo. He's the former director of Dallas County Health and Human Services. Also with me in the studio, Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, an infectious expert who has been on the front lines of outbreaks in Nigeria and after the 2004 tsunami.

Both of you, thank you so much for being here.

Dr. Carlo, these nurses, these doctors on the front lines, they're heroes and they should be honored for the work they're doing. But I do wonder, is the Dallas hospital out of its league when it comes to fighting Ebola? Let me put it even more pointedly. If you contracted Ebola, would you want to be in one of these four hospitals that have the isolation biocontainment units, Nebraska, Montana, NIH, Emory?

DR. JOHN CARLO, DALLAS COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY: This has been a very tough week for us here in Dallas.

We lost Mr. Duncan and we always wait to lose one of our patients. And now one of our health care workers has come down with an infection. So it's been a very, very difficult week for us. But in answering your question, I would want to be in a hospital here in Dallas. I'm very familiar with the health care system here. They have got a great facility at Presbyterian. So the answer to your question is yes.

TAPPER: You would be in Dallas. You wouldn't want to be transferred.

What about you?

DR. GAVIN MACGREGOR-SKINNER, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: Let's look at the situation we have here at the moment.

Again, we're focusing just on the patient. Actually, we need to look at the whole system in the hospital. Again, what we have had right now in Dallas, Jake, is we have had a hospital employee has been injured on the job. And that injury is that they have contracted a highly infectious disease called Ebola.

We need to be looking at this through a lens of occupational health and safety. And that is not happening at the moment.

TAPPER: But if you were to contract Ebola, let's say you were in Dallas, and you were to contract Ebola, would you be comfortable at this hospital? I don't mean to pick on this one hospital. I guess the question is, is it OK to be at a regular hospital or would you prefer to be at one of the four that have these biocontainment units that specialize in Ebola and other infectious diseases?

MACGREGOR-SKINNER: Right now, I think we'd look at the hospitals that have the high biocontainment unit. They have been practicing and carrying out exercises and drills for years and they have all the management and supervision processes in place. That's where I would like to be.

TAPPER: You would like to go to one of those four.

Dr. Carlo, I want to ask you about the nurse's dog. This might sound like a frivolous question. But in a way it's not because it has to do with the different ways that these patients are being treated. In Spain, the nurse's aide's dog was euthanized. And we're told that Ms. Pham's dog is not going to be euthanized.

My impression, and I might be wrong, correct me if I am, is that dogs are asymptomatic carriers of Ebola. I don't want to sound cruel, but is it the right decision to keep this dog alive?

CARLO: Well, I don't think we really know everything at this point. I don't think there's a lot of experience particularly with dogs and the relationship with Ebola and infection. For the individuals that I have spoken to here, they're taking every necessary precaution, including isolating the animal.

So I think they are doing what's necessary to take care of the pet. Again, there's a lot of information that I don't know. And I think there's a lot of information we simply don't know about Ebola in the transmission.

TAPPER: Today, the NBC cameraman who contracted Ebola in Africa tweeted that he feels like he's on the road to good health. I want to talk about this NBC drew, Dr. Skinner, because that NBC crew that came in contract with the cameraman, the New Jersey health officials said over the weekend that they had violated a 21-day isolation agreement, so the New Jersey health officials issued a mandatory quarantine order.

This is confusing to me. Why was the isolation voluntary? And it just seems like if the health authorities really want them to stay away from the public, why didn't they issue the mandatory quarantine to begin with?

MACGREGOR-SKINNER: This is what is adding so much confusion to how we actually tackled a highly infectious disease like Ebola.

The Public Health Service Act is the federal government's authority for a mandatory quarantine when required for particular reasons. Again, each of the -- from the federal level down to the state level, each state now has their own legislation and authority instrument.

That doesn't make a lot of sense because we keep hearing from the CDC director, we know how to contain Ebola, we have all the necessary staff and equipment in place, and we know that you can't spread Ebola until you have symptoms.

TAPPER: Right.

MACGREGOR-SKINNER: And so why when people like myself, when I came back from Nigeria, had I been in contact with Ebola patients? Yes. Was I put into quarantine? No.

And again there was no process there, but again amongst the team that I worked with, we reported to each other and we took our temperature on regular times throughout the day, probably more than twice, just to make sure. And we know as soon as we got that fever, that was the time to call a hospital.

TAPPER: Dr. Carlo, I just -- what kind of feedback are you getting from people in Dallas? I would think that based on all the mishaps that have happened in your great city, there are people concerned about whether or not your health system is prepared for a disease as venal and viral as this one and a crisis as great as this one.

CARLO: Well, you're right. There has been a lot of concerns here. But do I think that this could have happened anywhere else in the United States. And I think that our hospitals are doing what they can to get ready for this.

I think Dallas has done a remarkable job of stepping up and responding given the fact that this was the first case and the first case identified. Granted, we knew what was happening in West Africa could arrive here within 24 hours. But really did we really prepare and were we all ready for that? I'm just not sure. But I do think Dallas responded.

TAPPER: All right.

And, Dr. Gavin Macgregor -- Gavin, you were saying -- you were shaking your head, no, they weren't prepared.

MACGREGOR-SKINNER: No. We have just seen a map, Jake, of the four hospitals that are ready.

And again we will go back to this regionalization of hospital for hospitals readiness within the U.S. and transport the patients, just like we did with the U.S. citizens back from West Africa. We can do that. We have the expertise, we have the facilities, we have the transport mechanisms in place that are all safe. Not one person on those planes caught the virus. Let's do that.

TAPPER: All right, Dr. Carlo, Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, thank you both for your expertise. Appreciate it, as always.

Coming up, they're on the front lines of fighting Ebola, yet a majority of nurses here in the United States say they have received little training on how to protect themselves from this killer disease. How is that possible?

Plus, law enforcement warned, be on high alert for homegrown ISIS terrorists who could be planning attacks on the FBI, on police, even on members of the media. The new chatter that has federal officials concerned coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

The world lead -- the next 24 hours will be critical for a Spanish nurse's aide who became the first person to get Ebola outside of Africa. Teresa Romero Ramos got sick after treating a Spanish missionary who had the disease. And her case brought to life the dangers health care workers face when dealing with Ebola patients. Some are now questioning whether actions taken by the hospital where she was trained weren't just careless but potentially criminal.

CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins me now live from Madrid.

Nic, what can you tell us about the condition of this nurse's aide?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she had pulmonary edema, according to a friend of the husband, who's been into the hospital, in the protective (AUDIO GAP) the husband, talked to the husband, the husband not able to speak directly with his wife.

But what we are hearing is that Teresa Romero is that she's very afraid of the nights. That nights is when she says she gets worse. The hospital says she's still talking. She's still conscious. But her lungs and her breathing are very much affected at the moment.

TAPPER: And, Nic, her husband sent a strongly worded letter to the regional health minister there in Spain. It reads in part, quote, "Teresa had approximately 30 minutes to learn how to put on a protective suit from a colleague and she had a vocation in humility that you lack. Have some nerve and resign."

Obviously, emotions are riding high. But does the husband of this nurse's aid have a point about how unprepared the health care workers were?

ROBERTSON: He is not a lone voice in this. We've heard from others here have said the same thing. Get this as well, Jake -- this is a husband who through this friend who's become a spokesman for the family who's meeting with them tells us that Teresa and her husband actually had an argument about whether or not she should go and help these people with Ebola.

The husband was too afraid, afraid for her life. And she says, no, it's my duty, I have to go and do it, they need help.

So, he's really heartbroken because his wife put her life on the line to help people. And he doesn't feel like that the government has done enough to protect her life in doing that -- Jake.

TAPPER: Nic Robertson in Madrid, Spain, thank you so much.

The fact that both cases of Ebola contracted outside Africa involve members of the health care industry raises serious some red flags. Are the people on these front lines of this battle getting the proper training? Do they have everything they ne need?

Zenei Cortez is vice president of the National Nurses United.

Zenei, thanks for joining us.

A poll released by your organization found that 76 percent of nurses say hospitals have not communicated to them a policy on how to admit Ebola infected patients and 85 percent say they have nowhere to go to get their questions answered about Ebola treatment.

Has you group reached out to the CDC to try to rectify this?

ZENEI CORTEZ, REGISTERED NURSE & V.P., NATL. NURSES UNITED: Well, the statistics that you have mentioned is correct. What we are trying to say here is that as front-line direct care registered nurses, we want the best protection there is for us and also for our patients. And what is missing here is that the hospitals do not understand that if a patient walks in via the emergency room or in the clinics, we need to care for that patient regardless. And if we do not have the proper protective equipment and also the information or the knowledge or the education or the training, then it's really a disaster waiting to happen.

And when do we want to do the training? We want to do it now. And so we are really reaching out to our hospitals, our administrators to do the right thing. And the CDC has put out some guidelines which we think are not enough because if they say, you know, we don't need hazmat suits for this kinds of patients then why is it that when they come out to investigate or transport a patient, they are wearing the hazmat suits?

So, is it because we are only nurses? But we are there, like that colleague in Madrid. We are putting our lives on the line for these patients.

TAPPER: Absolutely.

CORTEZ: And we cannot abandon them.

TAPPER: The director of the CDC, Dr. Frieden, faced a lot of criticism for saying the nurse in Dallas likely got infected because she didn't follow the proper protocol. Here's how he responded to some of the criticism today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, DIR., CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION: I want to clarify something I said yesterday. I spoke about a breach in protocol. And that's what we speak about in public health when we're talking about what needs to happen. And our focus is to say, would this protocol have prevented the infection? And we believe it would have.

But some interpreted that as finding fault with the hospital or the health care worker. And I'm sorry if that was the impression given. That was certainly not my intention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, what do you think? Is that enough, what he said?

CORTEZ: Well, you know, it's really frustrating because in any given circumstance, when things go wrong, it's always the nurse who's being blamed. And in this particular case, they said it was a breach of protocol. But what was the protocol? Was it enough, you know, that the nurse and the patient is protected?

So, what we're saying is we need a standard full protection for us and for our patients. It's not enough that they put out guidelines. It has to be enforced, fully enforced. TAPPER: Let me put up this graphic, I want -- if I can, Zenei, I want

to put up this graphic. This shows the CDC guidelines for how health care workers should suit up when treating Ebola-infected patients. If you look, I don't know if you can see the screen, but the goggles and everything you're talking about, the guidelines are on the left.

But then you look at the actual health care worker from Emory University, one of these hospitals that specializes in this, and has these isolation units, they're not just wearing a mask, they're wearing a full covering on the head, kind of like the hazmat suits that you were describing. You're saying nurses are only being asked, being suggested to follow the left. And you think that they should be following the instructions of what the people at Emory University and the NIH and the hospitals in Nebraska and Montana are doing, yes?

CORTEZ: Yes, I believe so because we spend the most time with the patients. We are there most of the time with the patients, much more than anyone else in the health care field. We see them at the very beginning even before we diagnose or this patient is diagnosed by the doctor that it's a possible Ebola.

So, when they walk in via the emergency room or in the clinic, at the first point of contact, it's always the nurse who's there. And so, we would be exposed, you know, much more, much longer than anyone else. And so, we are just asking that we be given the proper protective equipment, we be given the hands-on training and we be given the proper education so that we will be able to ask questions and get our fears and issues, our concerns addressed. That's all we're asking.

TAPPER: Zenei Cortez, much appreciate it. As I told you, my mom is a nurse. I know how hard it is, the job that you. Thank you so much for what you do and for talking to us today.

CORTEZ: Thank you for having me.

TAPPER: Coming up, a new warning to law enforcement that ISIS could be planning attacks here in the U.S. targeting the FBI, police, even members of the media. Why federal officials rushed to get the warning out immediately.

Plus, a city still on edge as demonstrations turn violent once again in Ferguson and St. Louis, Missouri. Now, some protesters are blaming the St. Louis police chief for inciting anger. He will respond, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD.

More national news now. As American air strikes target ISIS in Iraq and in Syria, the federal government is warning that the terrorist group may try to fight back here at home. A new warning is being issued directly (AUDIO GAP) agencies. They're being told to keep an eye out especially for those lone wolfs, individuals acting alone who might want to target law enforcement.

CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown joins us with details -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, today is a federal holiday, but according to law enforcement sources, the FBI and DHS, they didn't want to risk waiting until after the long weekend to send out a warning to law enforcement agencies across the country. The bulletin warns officials to stay on high alert for home-grown violent extremist who may want to target them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Tonight, federal officials are warning law enforcement agencies across the U.S. that ISIS may be targeting them directly for terrorist attacks. The joint FBI/Department of Homeland Security bulletin says ISIS members are ramping up chatter on extremist forums and social media, calling for acts of violence against FBI investigators, police officers, U.S. troops and in at least one threat, members of the media.

Intelligence sources say the calls are aimed to motivate home-grown violent extremists to attack these targets on U.S. soil.

PHILIP MUDD, FORMER CIA/FBI COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL: I think the likelihood that we see something here in the United States is higher from kids who are simply affiliated with the ISIS idea than from kids who are affiliated in any way with the ISIS group.

BROWN: A similar alert was issued by U.S. officials in September, on the heels of a call by a senior ISIS leader for lone wolf attacks in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure.

BROWN: And just lack week, Twitter's CEO Dick Costolo confirmed he and his employees received death threats after deleting accounts associated with ISIS.

Intelligence officials believe the recent threats by ISIS are being made in retaliation for ongoing U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since the bombing campaign started, officials say several plots around the globe have been foiled.

MUDD: You can't look at the U.S. in isolation. You've got to look at us in the context of what's happening in Australia where we've seen ISIS-linked arrest, in Western Europe, where we've seen ISIS activity. This is really tough for law enforcement to follow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And one incident that triggered alarm bells here was a recent case in Australia where a terror suspect stabbed two police officers. Now, this latest bulletin was sent out as a precaution. U.S. intelligence officials say at this point, there's no evidence, Jake, that there's ongoing plot attack here in the U.S. that they're aware of. TAPPER: All right. Pamela Brown, thank you so much.

Turning now to the world lead, and further proof that U.S.-led airstrikes are doing regrettably to stop ISIS from advance jihadi fighters, now just miles from Baghdad and Iraqi forces are threatening to flee if the U.S. military does not intervene.

Stay with us. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)