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Nurse Who Treated U.S. Ebola Patient Now Infected with Ebola; CDC Announces Possible New Protocols for Treating Ebola Patients; New Images of Kim Jong-Un in Public; At Least 33 Hurt in Indiana Bus Accident; Debates in Kentucky Senate Race

Aired October 14, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT(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 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 God to help her to get 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 the family. The CDC says they're still working to compile a list of health care worker who came into contact with Duncan.

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: 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 and how she put it on and took it off." But fellow nurses say Pham was always careful.

JENNIFER JOSEPH, FORMER FELLOW NURSE: Knowing Nina, she's one of the most meticulous, thorough, effective nurses. When 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 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 (on camera): Now putting on this protective gear and doing it right is very difficult, and even seasoned health care workers don't have much experience with doing it. So that's why the CDC is here, teaching, training, drilling on how to put this gear on and take it off, because even if you're meticulous, even if you're thorough, mistakes can still happen. Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Especially if you're not getting enough training that is specific to this. A lot of nurses are complaining about that. And as you pointed out, Elizabeth, they are the first responders. They are on the front line. We have to do better by them. Alisyn, over to you for more discussion.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris, for more of what will be happening in Texas today and beyond, let's bring in Dr. Brett Giroir. He's the director of the Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease and Preparedness and Response. And we're joined also by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

Dr. Giroir, I want to start with you and what Elizabeth Cohen just reported, that the Associated Press has gotten ahold of Mr. Duncan's medical records. What they have figured out is that he came into contact with 70 health care workers at Texas Health Presbyterian. Is that number accurate as far as you know?

DR. BRETT GIROIR, DIRECTOR OF TEXAS TASK FORCE ON INFECTIOUS DISEASE PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE: I don't know that specific number. What I do know is that every person at the hospital who had any potential contact with Mr. Duncan was specifically interviewed by the CDC, and by local and state health authorities and they were assessed. Contact could have been standing across a room from Mr. Duncan, never in close contact, so that would be low risk. Every person who was in real contact with Mr. Duncan is on active -- is on active monitoring now by the CDC.

CAMEROTA: And Dr. Giroir, just help us understand what active monitoring means. Does that mean they are going to work? Are they reporting for work? Are they inside their house? How does it work?

GIROIR: No, they're not reporting for work. And they're being actively seen, which means they are being physically visited by epidemiologists or similar, similar types of disease detectives. They have their temperature taken multiple times day. And they have a self-reporting structure that even during the intermittent times they should call. That's exactly what happened with patient number, patient number two. She was on self-reporting, not active monitoring, but she called in. Now all those health care workers who were in contact with Mr. Duncan who had significant contact are on active monitoring, being visited by epidemiologists.

CAMEROTA: OK, so Sanjay, help us understand what the difference is between this active monitoring, self-reporting, and the kind of self- quarantine that we're seeing people like Dr. Nancy Snyderman at NBC, who came into contact with her cameraman who then came down with Ebola. What's the difference in all of these grades of how people are handling it?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, one thing to keep in mind, and I'll explain that. One thing to keep in mind, though, is people do not become infectious or contagious, even, until they are sick. Just keep that in the back of your mind as you think about this. So if someone is not sick yet, the idea of quarantining them doesn't make a lot of sense. What threat are they to the general public if they are not going to be contagious.

What happened in Dallas with the four family members and friends of Mr. Duncan was there was a concern they may not, they may go somewhere else, they may flee, as was told to us. And so they needed to keep them in one place to monitor them. Again, not because they're a threat to the public health.

Some people will actively monitor, meaning they're taking their temperature every day, that's being done for them in some way, and other people are just self-monitoring at home or wherever and taking their temperature on their own.

I am curious, to your point, Dr. Giroir, the 70 people who are in one of these categories now, I work in a hospital, I know a lot of health care people are required to take care of an individual patient, but was there anything done to try to limit the number of health care workers who would have contact with Mr. Duncan, given the severity of the condition?

CAMEROTA: Dr. Giroir, do you know the answer to that?

GIROIR: Yes, to my knowledge once the diagnosis was made, clearly it was a limited staff that was required to take care of Mr. Duncan. And remember, Presbyterian hospital closed down a 24-bed ICU in order to provide the best care possible. So yes, there was a limited group of staff. This was not a general pooled staff that was taking care of the patient.

CAMEROTA: Sanjay, does that answer the question?

GUPTA: Yes. I think it's going to be an important point that comes up again because 70 people is obviously a lot of people. But as part of the protocols, I'm just curious, we talk about the protection and all that. How about protecting other workers? Anything done to just make sure we limit the number of people coming in contact as much as possible? CAMEROTA: Yes. Obviously, Dr. Giroir, that's what all hospitals are

trying to figure out how to do now, yes?

GIROIR: Right. All hospitals are trying to do that. And I think the strategy must be multifold. Number one, you certainly limit the number of people in contact. And number two, you reexamine the protocols to protect health care workers. That's exactly what the CDC is doing.

Remember, a protocol neither works nor doesn't work. It limits the risk given an exposure. And we had potential high exposures, as the CDC said, when the patient had a breathing tube down and was on ventilation. And thus, the CDC is looking at other protective procedures right now, such as bleaching or putting disinfectant on top of the gown before you disrobe or potentially putting on rubber boots and changing from booties. So these are steps up in what otherwise might be a perfect protocol. But we know there was a problem with the protocol or its implementation because we have a nurse who is now sick in the hospital because of this transmission.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and Dr. Giroir, there is this perception in the public, fair or not, that Texas was woefully unprepared to deal with an Ebola patient. Just yesterday the director of Northwestern Center for Global Health said this --- "In Texas they really were slow to the plate. Texas is going to be the example of what not to do." So what is the change in strategy in Texas moving forward?

GIROIR: Well, I do think the response to this patient was really quite good. The incident command structure came into place. It was done by the county, the state supported that and the CDC came in.

Obviously there were issues. The identification of Mr. Duncan on the first time he arrived was lacking. He should have been identified as an Ebola patient and put in isolation. But part of the task force that I've been asked to direct is to really provide an ongoing assessment in lessons learned. We know in any natural disaster, whether it's a hurricane or a tornado or a major explosion, there will always be lessons learned, and there clearly will be lessons learned from this incident. And that's why the task force is put together. We have a preliminary brief update of December 1 with our first findings.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Brett Giroir, Sanjay Gupta. Dr. Giroir, best of luck. We know you have your work cut out for you. Sanjay, we will be talking to you litter in the program. We look forward to that. Thanks so much for all the information. Let's go over to Michaela for what else is making news.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks so much, Alisyn. Here's a look at your headlines right now. President Obama is meeting with defense chiefs from the U.S. and 20 other countries to talk about the fight against ISIS. This comes amid new coalition air strikes against ISIS this morning. The terrorists keep pushing for control in Kobani. They also scored a victory in neighboring Iraq, taking a strategically important military base in Anbar province. Oscar Pistorius back in court this morning for a second day of

sentencing arguments. A probation officer yesterday claimed the athlete should only serve house arrest and community service. Pistorius was found guilty last month of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The judge who rendered his verdict will decide his sentence.

Scary moments for passengers aboard an American Airlines flight. They were forced to make an emergency landing in San Francisco just after it had taken off from the very same airport. Officials say a blown air duct caused several of the panels on the wall of the plane to come off in flight. You can see the pictures here taken by passenger James Wilson. He posted them on his Facebook page. You can see there the panel popping up.

Thankfully, no loss of pressurization, oxygen masks did not deploy. The plane, which was headed to Dallas, landed safely. All 184 passengers were put on another plane to get to their destinations.

All right, with Halloween right around the corner, check out the spooky image. That's from space, my friends. That is the sun looking a wee bit like a Jack-o'-lantern. If you look closely, you could imagine you could see eyes, a nose, even a mouth. NASA says the image was created by a perfect storm of magnetic fields. Try to do that to your pumpkin.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: Without a blow torch.

CAMEROTA: I don't suggest that. It's not safe.

CUOMO: Costumes on Halloween? Or you passed it?

PEREIRA: For kids.

CUOMO: I think it's great for kids.

CAMEROTA: I don't observe. I'm not observant.

CUOMO: You're not the mom who has at least the wig on or one thing --

CAMEROTA: Yes, I throw on some lame item, a pointy hat and we go trick-or-treating, yes. I take it you go into Halloween? I'm picking that up.

CUOMO: I'm just asking questions, no need to judge. Do you take a cut of the candy?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Five gets you 10 she takes a cut of the candy.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: All right, he is back with a big smile and a cane. Our first look at North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in more than a month. So why the cane? Where was he? We have answers for you ahead.

CAMEROTA: And the first debate in a contentious Senate race in Kentucky. Mitch McConnell has blasted his Democratic rival for refusing to say whether she voted for President Obama. So how did Alison Lundergan Grimes respond? We will go "INSIDE POLITICS" for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: So we do have new information for you. North Korean state media is releasing what it says are new photos of the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un. Now, remember, he hasn't been seen in public at least for more than a month. They show Kim during two official visits and he's seen using a cane. Kim Jong-Un's disappearance from public view for more that a month has fueled speculation about his health and the possible coup attempt. Question is, will these pictures put that speculation to rest or merely add fuel to the fire?

Let's discuss. We have Paula Hancocks following developments from Seoul and CNN global affairs analyst and managing editor of Quartz, Mr. Bobby Ghosh.

Paula, let me start with you. What is the word inside and outside Pyongyang about what was going on and what these pictures mean?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the assumption in South Korea is that it was health issues and there's no problem with the leadership, which it seems to prove, these photos now. Although of course they are undated. We have to specify that.

Now, inside North Korea, just a few hours ago, I spoke to a defector who used to be quite high up in the elite. He has contacts still there and he said that some of the rumors inside North Korea were more far-fetched than they were around the world, that Kim Jong-Un had been under house arrest, that he's had a car accident, which in North Korea euphemistically means you had been bumped off, or he had a brain injury. So I think there was a need for the regime, even though he's still on crutches, or still on this cane, to show that he is in control, to give some kind of stability.

CUOMO: Quick take. Do you believe that this is something that was orchestrated, the absence, I mean, or do you think that this was circumstantial, is that he needed to be out of view for whatever reason?

HANCOCKS: Well, I think the assumption is that it was a health issue. He needed to be out of view.

CUOMO: OK.

HANCOCKS: I don't think that this was choreographed, although most things are in North Korea.

CUOMO: Right, and if that wasn't choreographed, certainly his return probably was. So Bobby, let me bring you on that. We don't have a time stamp, as Paula says, but we do have something circumstantial, the cane. We haven't seen him with that before. So there's something contemporary about that.

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: That's right. The last images we saw of him, the last video we saw of him before this set, he was hobbling a little bit. There was an admission that he was having some discomfort, some difficulty. This time, the cane appears. And that is really quite significant.

This is a person whose family has almost been deified in North Korean lore. He's god-like. His father, let's remember -- in his father's time, the propaganda machine said he'd scored 18 holes in one the first time he played golf. His father was said to have the ability to change the weather. And so for North -- for the propaganda machine to go from that to showing pictures of a 31-year-old man with a cane is really quite significant.

CUOMO: So why'd they do it?

GHOSH: Well, there are two possibilities. One is they have no choice; he needs a cane and the cane is better than a crutch. At least it conveys, in Asian culture, a sense of gravitas. It's better than hobbling around on a crutch, which would look far more worrisome. But this is -- the other option is this is just an admission of, well, this is how he's going to be now. We might as well start putting the pictures out.

CUOMO: Or is it a distraction, and they're using his health as a decoy because they're worried about something else? Or is that something too crazy movie stuff?

GHOSH: Well, you never rule anything out with a country that bizarre. But quite often the simplest explanations are true. And as Paula was saying, the South Koreans who watch very, very, very carefully everything, have a pretty decent beat most of the time of what's going on. And if they're not alarmed that this is some kind of decoy, that this is -- that some sort of coup attempt took place, then I think we can rule that out.

CUOMO: A coup is difficult under any circumstances. Many believe it would be near impossible under the circumstances of how the North Korean regime is set up. Paula Hancocks, what's your take on that?

HANCOCKS: Well, certainly I don't think the coup was really a viable option, even when Kim Jong-Un was still not in the public eye. Many analysts said that just a couple of weeks ago the number two, three, and four of North Korea came to South Korea, so effectively came to enemy territory to talk peace. Now you don't do that if back home there is instability and back home you have just deposed someone from the Kim dynasty. It's just not going to happen. So that was what the analysts here certainly assumed, that the coup was a nonstarter.

CUOMO: And you have Bobby Ghosh's head nodding in the affirmative. You accept that?

GHOSH: I do, but that doesn't mean the speculation will end. Now I think you'll have a fresh round of a speculation about the nature of the injury that is happening, the reason he's carrying a cane. Is it a matter of a knee injury or a leg injury? Does he have gout? We've seen some of that speculation. Or is there some deeper injury that he or they, the propaganda machine, are trying to conceal?

CUOMO: And of course all of this highlights the main problem, which is the United States and most Western countries have no dialogue or communication inside this country. So everything is a mystery and this will be just one more level of that that we need to decode in whatever best way we can.

Paula Hancocks, thank you very much. Bobby Ghosh, always appreciate the perspective.

GHOSH: Anytime.

CUOMO: Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris. Could Mitt Romney be carrying the torch for Republicans again in 2016? Our political panel weighs in on another possible Romney run.

And we have breaking news right now. This is out of Indiana -- dozens are injured in a bus accident. We have all of the latest ahead for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: All right, 24 minutes past the hour, let's give you a look at your headlines this morning.

And we start with breaking news. Very concerning situation here. 33 people are hurt in a Megabus crash on Interstate 65 in Indiana. We're told about eight of those injuries are serious. As you can see, compliments of our affiliate, WRTV, emergency crews are still on scene there. Police say the bus was actually trying to avoid another accident when it was hit by a vehicle, causing the bus to lose control. The bus was headed from Atlanta to Chicago. Those are the details we have now. We are going to continue to watch this situation in Greenwood, Indiana.

Tensions remaining high in St. Louis and Ferguson, Missouri. Dozens of people arrested at a Moral Monday march protesting police violence. Among them, prominent professor and activist, Dr. Cornel West. The rally capped off four days of resistance in Ferguson. Demonstrators calling for the officer who fatally shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown two months ago to be charged.

A Children's Day celebration in Brazil interrupted by a tornado of sorts. Look at this, it's a bit of a dust devil, a furious one in fact, forming near a carnival, sucking leaves, rubbish and a bouncy castle into its vortex. Oh my goodness. You knew that was going to happen. The whirlwind picked up the castle, tossed it high into the air. There was an 8-year-old child inside. That little boy was thrown to the ground as the castle flew into the air. Thankfully we are told he is OK. How frightening.

All right, something a little bit lighter. Check out my man. This is Charlie. He's having the time of his life, don't make me sing, mimicking the late Patrick Swayze, while watching "Dirty Dancing's" iconic final dance. Look at his footwork. Completely on point. Big moment, big moment. That's right. When Johnny Castle jumps from the stage. This guy knows all of these moves by heart and he's even got the strut, look at the strut.

CAMEROTA: The 'tude is fantastic.

PEREIRA: I think he's like eight and Mom says he's only watched -- only -- he's only watched the video about 10 to 12 times but he's got it on point. Come on.

CAMEROTA: Look at his face!

PEREIRA: He doesn't even have to look at the screen.

CUOMO: He's got to be Italian.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I agree with you. I agree with you. We need to know his genealogy.

PEREIRA: Got to be Italian? You were able to do that even from --

CUOMO: We all can. It's one of the reasons everybody wants to be Italian.

CAMEROTA: It's true. It's true, Michaela.

CUOMO: It's not even up for debate.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: John Avlon understands me. He understands my angst.

CAMEROTA: We will look into all of this, but in the meantime, we have to turn to politics. It's time to go Inside Politics on NEW DAY.

Mid-term elections are a few weeks away and last night one of the key debates got heated in Kentucky. Alison Lundergan-Grimes faces her Republican opponent, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell. It's one of the states being closely watched because it could affect the balance of power in the Senate.

Let's bring in our CNN political commentators. John Avlon, the editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast" and Errol Louis, political anchor for New York 1 News. Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here.

OK, Alison Lundergan-Grimes has taken some heat because she will not answer who she voted for in 2008 or 2012. Let's watch when that subject came up last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you vote for President Obama in 2008-2012?

ALISON LUNDERGAN-GRIMES, (D) KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: This election isn't about the president. It's about making sure we put Kentuckiens back to work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you vote for him?

LUNDERGAN-GRIMES: I was actually in '08 a delegate for Hillary Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're not going to answer?

LUNDERGAN-GRIMES: Again, I don't think that the president is on the ballot as much as Mitch McConnell might want him to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, that one was from last week. Last night she used a different strategy where she basically said our Constitution grants us the right to privacy at the ballot box. I don't have to reveal who I voted for.

Why is this even relevant, John Avlon?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, well, she doubled down on kind of the weasel words. Everybody knows she's an Obama delegate. What, you didn't vote for the guy? But the real issue isn't just the questionable strategic decision of not finding a more elegant way out of this. It's also that this race is really about who's less popular in Kentucky, Barack Obama or Mitch McConnell. And so she's trying to do everything she can to distance herself from the president, and Mitch McConnell is trying to stitch her to the man in the White House.

CUOMO: Errol, how --

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He's extremely unpopular. Obama, I mean -- he barely campaigned -- actually even in 2008, he got wiped out in the primary in 2008. He is extremely unpopular.

CUOMO: So what? How does she not answer the question?

LOUIS: Well, you know, look. First of all, her point is well taken.

CUOMO: Which is what?

LOUIS: Which is that, you know, the right to keep your vote secret is important. And it's --

CUOMO: Come on.

CAMEROTA: Let's hear her say it. Let's hear her say it, because we have that bite.

CUOMO: Hopefully it sounds better than when Errol said it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUNDERGAN-GRIMES: This is a matter of principle, our constitution grants, here in Kentucky, the constitutional right for privacy at the ballot box, for a secret ballot. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LOUIS: Now as the daughter of the former chair of the Democratic Party, as a delegate twice for Obama, as Democratic candidate for Senate, I think an adult, a reasonable adult, could figure out who she probably voted for.

CUOMO: That's even worse.

LOUIS: So just own it.

AVLON: But I don't think ultimately this really unnecessary self- inflicted dumb political wound is going to make the difference in this race.

CUOMO: Is it a window into who you're dealing with though? That's what voters pick up on with this stuff. It's not the content, it's the context.

AVLON: That's totally fair and that's right. But here's what's fascinating, right. You've got the Senate minority leader, who's trying to ride his team into leadership in the Senate, fighting for his life in Kentucky, a deep red state with a surprising Democratic tradition. Democratic governor, a state where Obamacare as implemented is actually quite popular. Last night, he embraced the Kentucky exchange.

CAMEROTA: Half-heartedly.

AVLON: Half-heartedly. He's saying he's the bridge-builder in Washington.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Well, he liked the exchange. He didn't like Obamacare. He likes kynect though.

AVLON: Yes, yes, which is one and the same thing.

CAMEROTA: Let's listen. Let's listen. Because he was asked about that last night.