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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Nurse With Ebola En Route To Maryland For Care; Nurse Blasts Hospital Over Ebola Response; CDC Ebola Patient May Have Been Ill As Early As Friday; Obama Talks About Calls Of Travel Ban; Obama: "May Be Appropriate" To Appoint Ebola Czar; Sanjay Gupta's Roots
Aired October 16, 2014 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 HOST: Hey, good evening again from Dallas. Tonight we're just moments ago, nurse Nina Pham left the city for an NIH facility in Bethesda, Maryland. The hospital just realized some video of her -- before she left the hospital they just put this video out on Youtube. We're seeing it for the first time. Some of it I believe is subtitled. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for being part of (inaudible) to take care of our first patients. And it means a lot. This has been a huge effort by all of you guys.
NINA PHAM: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah and were really proud of you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably ((inaudible)).
PHAM: Didn't really believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
PHAM: Just in case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you need anything.
PHAM: I don't think so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
PHAM: (inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no (inaudible).
PHAM: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy to (inaudible).
PHAM: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Otherwise not serious, OK. It's not were on.
PHAM: (inaudible). It could actual (inaudible). And I understand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you Nina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That's apparently here MD actually visiting here just before she left obviously in shock from his prospective. His in full protective gear and you can see that nurse as well, we believe a nurse as well in full protective gear. Much different account, a much different gear than nurses were wearing earlier as the whistle blower nurse has describe and she's going to describe more in this hour of 360.
Just about 90 minutes ago Nina Pham step out of been an ambulance (inaudible) field walking with assistance. She board specially equip plane bound for Washington area in a special facility at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Federal officials at NIH say they have the training and expertise there to better treat her symptoms and deal with the biohazard her illness presents. Now, the clear implication that Texas Health Presbyterian has been lacking in that regard. Now momentarily you'll hear from a whistleblower, nurse at the hospital who lays it out in pretty graphic detail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANA AGUIRRE, RN, TEXAS HEALTH PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: I'm so tired of hearing their explanation that don't mean anything to anyone. I'm tried of them blaming the nurses for being sick. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it and I'm not taking it. Those nurses are heroes. And I can -- I refuse to continue to hear them, you know, at any other way. And I'm not going to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: All right, in the moment we'll more in conversation with nurse Briana Aguirre. There's other breaking news as well. Tonight, where the nurse and Amber Vinson may have, let say maybe already been showing symptoms when she boarded that fight from Dallas to Ohio on Friday, that's three days before we were told she was symptomatic and countless other people were possibly coming in contact with here.
Now if true, question is why did she think it was OK fly? How many people was she in contact with? All of that is being investigated by the CDC right now and officials in Ohio. On Monday on the way home when she phoned into the CDC the other question is she phoned in with a fever of 99.5 saying she's been treated an Ebola patient who died. One of the person on the other end phone say it was OK for her to get on that airliner. One of many questions tonight. President Obama also spoke out and we'll talk about that in more. Well we start here in Dallas with Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. So let's start about this news today Amber Vinson may have. We say may have been symptomatic when she first got on that flight to Ohio. Where is that information coming from?
ELIZABETH COHEN, SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Actually that's coming from a federal official. We are hearing that she did had symptoms while in Cleveland that she felt muscle ache, that she felt fatigue, that she felt malaise, which is a fancy way of saying does not feeling well. And that she felt that while she was in Cleveland and on the flight home from Cleveland to Dallas and she did not tell the CDC.
COOPER: Is it known that if she had a fever earlier than that day that she was flying home?
COHEN: No not the fever part of it. I don't know that we know that.
COOPER: OK.
COHEN: But even without the fever someone who's been treating some with Ebola was known to have personal protective equipment that didn't appear to be up par. If they had known that she had muscle aches that she had that fatigue, that malaise, they would not have let her get on a plane.
COOPER: Do we know much about her condition right now?
COHEN: No, we don't know much and one thing that concerns me, you know, we see how well Nina Pham is doing. You know, she by all accounts caught it very, very quickly. The, you know, if this woman, if Amber Vinson was feeling these days before she got help. It decreases the chances that she's going to have a good outcome. And we pray that she does. But, you know, getting help quickly is so, so important.
COOPER: And Nina Pham has also receive plasma from Dr. Kent Brantly, a plasma which has antibodies that are able to applied to for Ebola virus.
COHEN: Right and we, you know, he and Nancy Writebol are the only possible donor. She has and Nancy Writebol hasn't match with anyone (inaudible).
COOPER: Right, her blood is a rare blood type.
COHEN: Right. And we don't know Amber Vinson blood type and we don't know if has Brantly either. You know, we hope that there's a match there because the WHO says there's hope for blood transfusion that they can work.
COOPER: At this point, so now there are no Ebola patients, anybody who's tested positive for Ebola at this hospital anymore. What happens now at this hospital? I mean clearly this will give them some space to try to regroup because clearly they need to regroup. COHEN: They do need to regroup. I mean in their press release today they said that since Nina Pham is going, we can prepare ourselves for whatever might come next. And it make you wonder if their expecting perhaps more of their own employees to come back as Ebola patients. Certainly, you know, this hospital, I learn for a CDC doctor who just working there this week, they are two-thirds empty. People are scared to come here.
COOPER: And I've just been given some information while your talking that this is a new CDC Ebola. And the CDC is now asking passengers who are on board that flight from Dallas to Cleveland Ohio, that flight that we know that Amber Vinson was on. Its flight 1142. Which airlines was that? That...
COHEN: Frontier.
COOPER: ... frontier airline, flight 1142 frontier airline from Dallas forward to Cleveland on October 10th. Their asking anybody who was on board that flight to contract the CDC. That's a brand new information just -- I'm just been given that bulletin right now. What's -- And we're also put the contact number up on the screen in a moment. But what's important about that is because this really expands the number of people...
COHEN: Yes,
COOPER: ... the CDC wants to talk to. We don't want to say anything more than that they simply wanted to talk to and checking with all of those people because now they have to basically getting contract with as many people that Amber Vinson may have gotten in contact.
COHEN: Right. And Nina Pham had one contact. Amber Vinson is going to have more than for sure, because...
COOPER: Where you got two airplane fights.
COHEN: You have two fights. You have several days in Cleveland. I mean this -- it's getting bigger and bigger. Now, I will say that she wasn't -- I was told that didn't have diarrhea or vomiting on the flight or in Cleveland. That's good because of course if those bottley fluids they can get people sick.
COOPER: Right.
COHEN: And you're less infectious when you're at the beginning of your illness. You just have less virus to spread around, so that's good. But still you don't want to rely on that.
COOPER: And also realistically most the vast majority people on the flight don't have contact with each other.
COHEN: Right.
COOPER: Maybe it's the person sitting next to or, you know, whatever the seating arrangement was, that would be of most interested to the CDC. But people sitting in other parts of the plane again... COHEN: Right. Planes are not incredibly of high concern to public health expert. I've talk to but, you know, let say she was sweating. She put his arm down, someone else...
COPPER: Right.
COHEN: ... has (inaudible), you know, that's possible but it's not the highest of likelihood.
COOPER: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, I appreciate the update. Well I want to show you just that video again of Nina Pham, this is the first time we have seen Nina Pham actually in here hospital room here in Dallas, a room she has now vacated. She certainly, you know, she's smiling there all along. And for the last several days she's been describe as in good condition. But she is now on route in the air flying to the NIH.
Joining is now is the Dallas Mayor, Mike Rawlings, Mr. Mayor, it's good to see you again.
MIKE RAWLINGS, DALLAS MAYOR: Good to see you.
COOPER: How are things? What's your prospective?
RAWLINGS: Today's better than yesterday.
COOPER: OK.
RAWLINGS: And it was a very bad day yesterday. I was very upset. We made a lot of progress today.
COOPER: What is the progress that you see?
RAWLINGS: Well, the most important progress is focusing on the health of these healthcare workers that were in the room with Mr. Duncan.
COOPER: So Amber Vinson, Nina Pham getting down to the NIH.
RAWLINGS: We'll do that but it's in the other healthcare workers that are out there and making sure that their safe and making sure the communities is safe incase any of folks we got...
COOPER: There some as many as 76 healthcare workers...
RAWLINGS: Yeah.
COOPER: ... who's potentially came in contact. The hospital yesterday said any of those healthcare workers who want to stay at the hospitals, will have rooms for them. Do you know how many have actually taken them up on that office?
RAWLINGS: Dozens. But up more importantly I just walk out of a meeting. We had a -- the Commission of the Stake Health Service has created a statement that make -- everybody has going to have to sign and it's going to put them on a no flight list, they can't take public transportation. They must have a personal monitoring twice a day. Further more they cannot go to public places. No churches, no schools, no restaurants, no spas. They can't go to the shopping center, no grocery stores. They have to be there or they have to be at (inaudible).
COOPER: All right, so this is related and this is brand new.
RAWLINGS: It's brand new (inaudible).
COOPER: This is for the 76 -- this is specifically for their 76, not the original for 48.
RAWLINGS: Well, no, it's no individual who -- I mean the individuals that had enter that.
COOPER: OK.
RAWLINGS: In the seven -- I think more a 50 number.
COOPER: Fifty number, OK.
RAWLINGS: Yeah, there were a lot a people that did other things, but.
COOPER: So they are still self-monitoring, but they have to sign.
RAWLINGS: No, they're not self-monitoring, someone is going to go to their house...
COOPER: OK.
RAWLINGS: ... and monitor.
COOPER: To monitor twice a day.
RAWLINGS: But they can stay in the home...
COOPER: OK.
RAWLINGS: ... if they want or they can come up here. I've had client who said, "Well, put him in hotel rooms." OK. So the community wants them safe. But we're going to separate them from public situation.
COOPER: So is that quarantine?
RAWLINGS: Well, it's an isolation.
COOPER: Yes.
RAWLINGS: There's a technical ward for quarantine, but I don't think that is. But more importantly, if they do that, they ended up going to a restaurant then the state will come in and then put a control order on like we did with the first family.
COOPER: And is this something that comes from the state or just come from the CDCs?
RAWLINGS: The state, OK. We -- The city and accounting have been working with them under consultation of the CDC, we power through that today. We had commissioners that wanted to do a state of emergency, we said, "That's not what we want. This is what we want."
COOPER: So you're going to have each of those people sign this?
RAWLINGS: They've -- They're already out. Look, people are handing them. They're signing it. They're going over it. And we're posting it as we speak.
COOPER: Mr. Mayor, I appreciate your coming on let us about that.
RAWLINGS: Thank you.
COOPER: Thank you so much.
RAWLINGS: I appreciate it.
COOPER: Thanks for all your efforts. That's Mayor Rawlings of Dallas. That's document that Mayor just held of, you find that on our website at ac360.com. If you want to take a look at it, that's a very interesting development. That is a new thing that's coming out of the state.
President Obama has being clearing out his schedule to deal with the Ebola crisis. He met with advisors late today. Spoke with reporters tonight. Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta joins us with more on that.
So Jim, I know the White House has repeatedly resisted the idea of appointing an Ebola Czar. I understand that maybe changing. What do you know?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right Anderson. All those week the White House has said that would add another layer of bureaucracy. Our first White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on this, who's in charge. He couldn't question. And then he went on to say, that Lisa Monaco who is the President's Counterterrorism Adviser can handle both ISIS and Ebola at the same time.
And then earlier this evening the President in the oval office said he might go ahead and appoint an Ebola Czar. He's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It maybe appropriate for me to appoint an additional person not because the three of these folks have not been doing an outstanding job. I should mention then Susan Rice, my National Security Advisor.
It's not that they have been doing an outstanding job. We're really working hard on this issue. But they also are responsible for whole bunch other stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Now, it's not all clear that the President is close to tapping an Ebola Czar. He said he will get back to us when he gets around to appointing somebody. Anderson.
COOPER: Now, certainly, a lot of republicans have called on the President to order a travel ban from Ebola affecting countries. He stood firm on that tonight that that's not an option, correct?
ACOSTA: To some extend, yes. I mean, he did say Anderson, that he's not philosophically opposed to a travel ban on those countries, in West Africa, dealing with this Ebola Outbreak. But he did say if it something that's needed to protect the American people, he might go ahead and do that.
He says that the experts are telling him that a travel ban would not work as well as current measures that are in place and that a travel ban might actually force people to try invade screening and try to go out of other countries and travel through other places, to try to avoid being detected. But yes you're right, all this week the White House has been saying that there were opposed all this.
And then curiously earlier today, the CDC directors setup on Capitol Hill, that well he maybe open to the ideas as well. And then the President sort of crack that door open tonight, he's not completely knock down that possibility. It's just another example Anderson of how the American people are looking for clarity out of this White House on Ebola. But this week they just have them and getting it.
COOPER: All right. Jim Acosta, appreciate the update from the White House.
Quick reminder, make sure you set your DVR. You can watch 360 whenever you'd like to watch it.
Coming up next, a conversation with Briana Aguirre, she's the Nurse of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Now, a whistleblower who says she and her colleague did not get the information that they so just desperately needed not from the hospital and not from the CDC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AGUIRRE: I feel like if you're in there with an Ebola patient and your life is on the line and you're family safety is at risk. You should have the number to anyone. You should have the number to Obama Administration to get you whatever you need to perform that job safety. I'm not satisfied with any answer that the hospital has to offer, at all.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Quick reminder, take a look at the bottom -- the banner at the bottom of your screen. If you flew in that Frontier Airlines flight from Dallas port or to Cleveland on Friday and the returning flight on Monday night either or, flights 1142 and flight 1143, the CDC would like you to call them. The numbers 1-800-CDC-INFO. Again, 1-800-CDC-INFO. Now, here in Dallas people likely take a lot of pride in their city, it's a great city, in their (inaudible) Institutions, Medical Facilities included. Obviously, that's harder for these days in relation to this hospital. We can make the case that which ever a hospital, which ever city that in counter the first unexpected case of Ebola in the country would probably be struggling. And some of the same way is that Texas Health Presbyterian has.
Unexpected is one thing. Unprepared though, that's another. Unprepared is precisely what Nurse Briana Aguirre says the hospital was unprepared. She says CDC guidelines were confusing. Training was limited at best and the situation was chaotic.
In addition, she says the hospital has been totally lacking in transparency about much of it. We spoke a short time ago along with Attorney Bob Kelly and we apologize for the background, noise there were helicopters overhead while we're speaking.
It's stunning to me too is the lack of transparency of this hospital. And I mean, I'm not here to bash the hospital, but, you know, you're putting your lives on the line. And you're putting your lives on the line. And there are other hospitals out there that are desperate for information because other hospitals could make the same mistakes and need to learn from what happened here.
And this hospital has just been silent. They have been silent until you really come forward, and I mean, that's why think what you are doing so brave, this hospital had remained silent in the face of all of this. They've said virtually nothing about what is occurred inside there about the real mistake they've made. They've apologized generally but they haven't gone specific and the specifics matter and you help other hospitals out there.
AGUIRRE: And ultimately, I agree with every word you said and that's why I'm here. I am so tired of hearing their explanations that don't mean to anything, to anyone. I'm tired of them blaming the nurses for being sick and I'm tired it. And I'm tired of it and I'm not taking it. Those nurses are heroes. And I refused to continue to hear them, you know, at any other way and I'm not going to.
COOPER: Let me ask you about the medical waste because that's obviously huge issue (inaudible). Was there -- I mean there's obviously a lot of medical waste in a case dealing with an Ebola patient. How was that handled?
AGUIRRE: Well, there was no clear way that it was going to be handled. I believe that, I mean I wasn't -- I never called a sanitation crew. I just told my charge nurse, I told my supervisor, I told the CDC, I told that infectious disease, you know, I said -- excuse me. And I said, "We need our garbage picked up." You know, we are generating a crazy amount of garbage. I mean, just with the amount of gear we're wearing and every time you have to go in a room, you have to put it all on and you have to take it all up and do it again and you spend essentially all day getting dressed and undressed. And we were wearing disposable scrubs, paper scrubs, some type of product. And a crazy and a massive amount of garbage and waste. Some of it coming directly from the patient's rooms.
And it was piling up. When I came in on a Saturday morning, the 11th -- the room that was designated as the garbage room was already chockfull. I mean, they ran out of room and they were just throwing bags in there. And -- So then it started being put in the hallway. And when I came there on...
COOPER: In the hallway?
AGUIRRE: Yes. A hallway of -- that's inside of the isolation unit. So it's not like a hallway that any Joe Schmo (ph) could be walking down. Its nurses, you know, it was a locked down unit.
But the CDC and the infectious disease people were walking up and down that hallway without anything on. They had no gloves on. They had no foot covers. They had no PP on, whatsoever. And they were walking right near and touching stuff all up and down that hallway and then going into areas that were designated to be clean. And that's why I called that scene just uncontrolled, unsystematic, chaotic, you know, it's ridiculous setup.
COOPER: Bob, are there whistle blower protections for Briana?
BOB KELLY, BRIANA AGUIRRE'S ATTORNEY: There are some, but the whistle protection blower laws in Texas are not that strong. That's why what I was really like to be able to avoid any kind of litigation or any lawsuit, I am -- if I could make in a public request Jim Berg whose the president of the hospital to contact you, Anderson, go on record and say, "Look, we recognize that this nurse is a hero and her job is in no way integrity (ph) as a result of what happened.
We don't want to go in the litigation. She's just...
COOPER: We'll reach out to them.
KELLY: She's not in this for the money. She just wants to know that her job is secure and she can continue to be a nurse and provide for her family.
COOPER: If God forbid, you tested positive and obviously you're monitoring yourself now, would you go to this hospital to be treated?
AGUIRRE: I don't know if I can legally refuse but I would try. I would do anything and everything not to be a patient there. I told this to someone else and it's not because I feel that a facility -- another facility would do a better job, I have a wonderful job -- I have a wonderful hospital. It's because of what I saw there and what I actually know to be going wrong in there.
And I just -- I would be sitting there feeling like I could be contaminated any minute. If I didn't already have Ebola, then I may get it by being there, by having a doctor cross contaminate between patients by having an confident infectious disease -- infection control department, by having incompetent CDC leadership there, absolutely. They promised. They promised to be transparent and they promise to put their employee's safety as their number priority. And I feel lied to and I know so many other people that do, as well.
COOPER: Well Briana, I appreciate your strength and you courage in coming forward. We'll continue to push on the hospital to get a response for you about your job. Bob as well, thank you very much. Thanks for your time.
KELLY: Thank you. Thank you Anderson.
AGUIRRE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, I want to point out just a few moments ago, we actually got a statement from Texas Health Presbyterian from Wendell Watson who is the Director of Public Relations at the hospital about Briana's employment. Now it reads, "Her employment status is the same today as it was yesterday. We will welcome the opportunity to learn more about her observations when she is willing." We'll continue to follow that to see if they lived up to that.
Up next, for all that scientist and learned about Ebola, there are still some significant unknown. Sanjay Gupta, digs deeper on that coming up. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: As we set the hearing on Capitol Hill today, lawmakers grilled officials over their slow to response to the arrival of Ebola in America and demanded an explanation for how two nurses became infected in the line of duty. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know yet how the two healthcare workers in Dallas were -- contracted the virus? Was it a breakdown in the protocol? Was it a breakdown in the training of the protocol? Do we know whether or not the protocol works?
DIANA DEGETTE, (D) COLORADO: You don't really know how Ms. Pham was -- well either one of these wonderful nurses were exposed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said the protocols were breach? Where the protocol is breach?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It seems like each day new questions surfaced about where the protocols broke down, if in fact that's what happened, if the word protocols in place. Both question of who should the quarantine is a big part of the story.
Now, we've heard repeatedly the quarantines for Ebola should last 21 days, but what if that advice is actually outdated? Well it turns out there is still a lot that science does not know about Ebola.
Once again, hers Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The nation's top public health officials told congress again and again. They know a great deal about the Ebola virus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There really is a lot we know about Ebola. CDC has an entire branch, entire group of professionals who spend their careers working on Ebola and other similar infections. They go out and stop outbreaks all the time.
GUPTA: But even after 40 years after the disease was discovered in Africa and name after the Ebola River and it's now the Congo. The disease still has some significant unknowns.
For instance, the widely held belief is that if you don't develop symptoms for 21 days, you're basically clear clear.
DEGETTE: Ebola has an incubation period of about 21 days and it's not contagious until the person with the virus begins to be symptomatic. Beginning often with a fever, correct?
TOM FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR OF CDC: Between two and 21 days, yes.
GUPTA: But, a scientist Philadelphia's Drexel University says, "That's not necessary true." Dr. Charles Haas just published the paper this week.
DR. CHARLES HAAS, DREXEL UNIVERSITY: I think the latest data show more prolong the incubation times in the very first outbreak. And so, there needs to be reconsideration of the odds accused for sensation of quarantine base on the data that's available.
GUPTA: So, if the incubation time is longer it would have a wide ranging impact on all those people currently being monitored for possible Ebola exposure.
HAAS: I think their analysis is still founded on the original Outbreak in Zaire in 1976 without having assimilated the data from the outbreak that had happened subsequently.
GUPTA: And what about transmission? How could a long time friend of Thomas Duncan who slept in the same apartment and was exposed to him after his first emergency room visit, not get the disease as far as we know. And two nurses who helped treat him did get infected.
DR. STEPHEN MORSE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: We have very little idea why people -- two people who are just as sick one will live and one will die even if they get the same treatment.
And if they get no treatment at all and we know that something is similar may happened. There's something there obviously that these patients who survived are able to do and we don't know what makes the difference there. GUPTA: It is important to clarify, just because you're exposed to
Ebola doesn't mean you're going to get infected. And what about blood transfusions? Transfusions like the one who is given to Ebola patients like Kent Brantly who also had Ebola and so far survived the disease.
Scientists do agree there's real hope there.
MORSE: Using serum from people who've recovered may very well having affect especially early in disease. And it seems that most of the people he donated blood too and he himself got some from the recovered person I understand, made very well had made a difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And Sanjay Gupta joins us know, again from Emory University Atlanta where Amber Vinson is being treated. You know, Sanjay, I read that report earlier today about the 21 day incubation time may actually not be fully accurate. It may actually take people longer to make sure that certain symptoms -- that they're symptom free. I think I read that as many as 12 percent of the cases, it's longer than 21 days. Is that right?
GUPTA: That's what this new paper says Anderson. And, you know, you keep in mind, when we talk about some of these numbers we talk about them in definitive terms. they're not definitive terms, they're not definitive thing even when it comes to this incubation period.
21 day should catch a significant number of people. But, it may not get all of them. So, that's something that the people have to keeping an eye on in terms of their protocols.
Yesterday Anderson, we talk about what temperature constitutes a symptom when it comes to Ebola. We've been talking about the temperature of 101.5, now they've lowered it 100.4 because they want to make sure they don't missed anybody. Might they extending the incubation period? Possibly.
Again, this paper just coming out. Dr. Haas there, you know, and the Scientific Community has responded favorably do it so far.
COOPER: Well, and what Dr. Haas was saying is that. Basically, that 21 days comes from the information from back into 70s -- the idea that they haven't actually kind of accumulated all the new data which he clearly has. Obviously, that's going to raise a whole bunch of question. We're going to talk more about this because it's an important thing. Are people who have just being watch for 21 days, is that enough? I mean, that's the bottom line questions.
Sanjay, stay with us. Up next, we're going to be answering your questions from all of you about the Ebola crisis. You can tweet your questions using the #EbolaQ&A. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. Our breaking news tonight, nurse Nina Pham is on her way to Maryland at this hour for treatment for Ebola.
Right now, we want to again show you that video that was just posted of Nina Pham from inside of room here. It was posted by public relations Department of Texas Presbyterian Hospital before she left. Her treating position recorded the conversation with her before she was discharge. Nina asked the video to be shared, according to hospital. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for being part of (inaudible) to take care of our first patients. And it means a lot. This has been a huge effort by all of you guys.
NINA PHAM: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah and were really proud of you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible) everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably, probably no.
PHAM: Didn't really believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
PHAM: Just in case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you need anything.
PHAM: I don't think so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
PHAM: (inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's now crying.
PHAM: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy to (inaudible).
PHAM: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Otherwise not serious, OK. It's not were on.
PHAM: (inaudible). It could actual (inaudible). And I understand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you Nina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: A couple things, first of all that's first time obviously we seen Nina Pham in here hospital room. And our thoughts and our prayers are with her and her entire family as well with Amber Vinson. It's interesting also you see protective gear that the other personnel in that room is wearing, it's a far cry (ph) from the protective gear that nurses say they were told to wear early on in this epidemic, and not even early on, two weeks into what happen at the hospital. I shouldn't say epidemic but into what happened at the hospital, the crisis inside.
And it's also interesting that for a hospital that has not been transparent at all, for a hospital that is not making public statement on a routine basis. It is not told other hospitals exactly what has gone wrong in treating and in dealing with Ebola inside this hospital. That the PR department of this hospital would take the time to not only shoots this video but to subtitle it. And that the doctor would take the time to point out in the subtitle that she and call her a volunteer nurse -- volunteer to make that point, it's orchestrated.
So it's just important to keep that in mind, it's not a accident that this is being release right now after days of criticism form this hospital of just being completely untransparent. And the lack of transparency its really frankly stunning. We've been hearing a lot of viewers, asking important question about Ebola. There's a lot of confusion concern out there. We want to answer some of your question.
Now to do that, we got Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta also Dr. Alexander Van Tulleken, Senior fellow at the institute for International with Humanitarian affairs. And David Quammen, author of a lot of book, including this soon to be release book, "Ebola the Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus."
So Sanjay, we've been getting a lot of viewer questions, many of which are variation of this one, Cary (ph) ask, "Why are patients with Ebola being treated in different hospitals and not just one of two standard locations?" Lot of people have asked us that.
GUPTA: Well, you know, part of this has to do with where the patient end up, you know, and so in the case of Mr. Duncan, he was obviously in Dallas when he got sick and went to the emergency room there. And, you know, the anticipation if he had this sort of looking at the future a bit is that we likely are to get other patients in the United States that after arriving here will be diagnose with Ebola.
So they may not be in one of these places that have the centers, the Emory, the Nebraska, the NIH those places. So that's why the local hospitals and local emergency departments have to have some of this training. They are still going to be first line even if the patients are subsequently transferred to a place like Emory here behind me.
COOPER: And even it's not Ebola it could be something else down the road with some other infections disease and it's good to have to training. Dr. Van Tulleken, a lot of question of are coming in about how Ebola is transmitted. Jena (ph) asked, they say Ebola is not transmitted via air. What if Ebola patient directly sneezes or cough on someone? ALEXANDER VAN TULLEKEN, SENIOR FELLOW INT WITH HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: Yeah, that the question around transmission really, really important because it's very difficult to do this research and answer the question exactly. So most of what we know about transmission comes from looking at the pattern of spread and larger epidemics in saying, "Well, within certain proximity, people seem more likely to get infected if people have contact with bodily fluids and blood get infected.
But -- And then there some animals studies as well. So what we can say pretty confidently is that doesn't seem to be airborne in small particles for long period of time. But if someone would have coughs in your face, you get a large droplet. What we do into your mount their eyes (inaudible), is what we do know is that Ebola is highly infectious. So bodily fluids, especially from a sick person will have a large numbers of viral particles and you don't need very many Ebola particles to get virus particles to get you sick.
So I think that the usual rule of thumb that we're employing at the moment is kind of three foot rule. If you didn't come within three feet, it's very unlikely you would be able to catch it in the community. So I think the risk of it, you know, the idea that it be airborne like something like flue is really not a concern. But certainly if you were expose to bodily fluids in that way over short distance...
COOPER: Right.
VAN TULLEKEN ... yeah they could be airborne.
COOPER: All right. David you've done a lot of research on Ebola. Kimberly (ph) asked, why where there over 70 healthcare workers assigned to take of Mr. Duncan. Why was this not limited by the hospital, which is certainly saw into CDC, has been saying should had been done?
DAVID QUAMMEN AUTHOR "EBOLA": Well that's a good question. And I don't know the answer, I know that people work long shifts. When they're wearing personnel protective equipment it's very tiring. It gets very hot inside that equipment, even if the equipment is not adequate the way it apparently was not adequate in Dallas. So people need to be rotated out. There are lots of different tasks.
But you would think that the hospital -- if they hospital were really prepared, had sophisticated protocols and were following those, would want to limit the number of people who are involve in the rotations...
COOPER: Right.
QUAMMEN: ... for treating Mr. Duncan.
COOPER: Dr. Alexander Van Tulleken, I appreciate being on David Quammen as well. Sanjay stay with us for a moment.
So (inaudible) we're going to shift gears a little bit. Tonight it's Sanjay's turn to share his journey into these families past as part of CNN's root project. Get ready to travel. Well Sanjay story is fascinating, 1600 years back. Sanjay has been able to trace his family. Its incredible story and incredible journey. Stick around for that in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And welcome back. All these week in CNN, we're exploring a root to get a look at my family history earlier this week and if you missed it, you can check it out at ac360.com.
Tonight my good friend and our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares his incredible journey into his family's past. How far back he went is remarkable. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: What are you thinking right now?
DAMYANTI GUPTA, SANJAY GUPTA'S MOTHER: It's amazing. I can't believe it. I can't believe it.
GUPTA: You never thought you'd come here.
D GUPTA: Never. Never. Thank you. Yes. Now, I'm back with my son after 67 years.
GUPTA: Right. I'm not 67, just to be clear.
D GUPTA: No. I'm back. I'm back after 67 years. In between -- the other things happened because I was only 5, you came back 67.
GUPTA: Right. I tell people that my mom was a refugee when she was a young person.
D GUPTA: I'm still a refugee. I never got set us back.
GUPTA: My mom was a survivor of one of the bloodiest partitions in our world's history. The religious wars between Hindus and Muslims, in India and Pakistan.
You left everything you own.
D GUPTA: Everything we own because we did not know how long and where we are going, we did not know that also. I tell you one good thing happened out of all this, you know, when you take a ball and you hit hard, it goes up high. The harder you hit, that it goes up, right?
GUPTA: Well here you are.
D GUPTA: We are in Tharushah.
GUPTA: This is it. This is your roots.
D GUPTA: The roots is back in.
GUPTA: We get out. Let's take a look. It's hard to believe but my mom hasn't been back here in 70 years. She hasn't seemed to miss a beat though. She's asking right now in Cyndi (ph), if anybody in the small village recognizes her maiden name, Hingorani.
D GUPTA: This is my Tharushah.
GUPTA: So you walk through here, does anything looks familiar?
D GUPTA: I think those -- that's (inaudible) it looks familiar and that those doors, they looks familiar.
GUPTA: These doors over here.
D GUPTA: Yes, this -- one of these doors can be my house.
GUPTA: Really?
D GUPTA: Yes.
GUPTA: You want to knock and take a look?
D GUPTA: We can try, see if somebody will open.
GUPTA: It's worth the shot. We've come all this way.
D GUPTA: Yes.
GUPTA: I see some movement back there.
They welcome her. She things this might be our house.
D GUPTA: We used to have like this.
GUPTA: Courtyard like this.?
D GUPTA: Courtyard like this and the string used to sit like in this one portion.
GUPTA: Is that right?
D GUPTA: Yes.
GUPTA: So what do you think?
D GUPTA: It's amazing. Can you believe it? I lived in some place like this.
GUPTA: Do you think that this is your house?
D GUPTA: Something, if not exactly same house but something similar. It maybe same house.
GUPTA: All my mom's family was forced to move from Tharushah, to Karachi to Mumbai, Bangalore, and then Baroda. My dad's family, they've really lived in the same place. We arrive here. It's a hard to believe but what you're looking at now is the oldest place we can trace my father's ancestors back in. It's called (inaudible) India and these are the people who still live here.
It was a heroes welcome. Everywhere dad went. It's a big crowd.
SUBHASH GUPTA, SANJAY GUPTA'S FATHER: It was not because of me.
GUPTA: But I think a lot of it was because of (inaudible) our great grandfather, because he donated a lot land for the temples and I think he is pretty charitable person, which it was interesting just because you know you can hear somebody's name. You can hear their -- where they lived but then, when you get a little bit of idea of what kind of person they were, that's really fascinating.
Of course, you could see they literally rolled out the red carpet for my father and I. I'm meeting hundreds of relatives I didn't even know that I had. They even put out the sign here, so (inaudible) my great grandfather here. (inaudible) my grandfather, he was much (inaudible) than my father. They're welcoming CNN. They're saying that I'm a renowned neurosurgeon, giving me far more credit than I deserved. They welcomed us into the home. Let's take a look.
Any of this look familiar to you?
S GUPTA: All the construction, it changed completely. You probably remember this. It was straight going up from here.
GUPTA: These are the stairs going right here. What's that?
S GUPTA: Completely renovated.
GUPTA: So it's different.
The idea that I -- you know, tell my friends that my parents came from -- from the other side of the world and very small towns and villages. I mean this is, this is it. S
SUBHASH GUPTA: This its the very spot.
GUPTA: We were about to take the biggest step in our own journey. Who were my ancestors? What kind of people were they? We found a key that could help unlock the answers to some of the questions.
So back to 1698. We went back. That's how far it was?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that's the lunar year.
S GUPTA: That's 1698.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's even before that.
GUPTA: So it's even before that.
So roughly, how many years back are we talking?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 1600.
GUPTA: About 1600.
These records go back 40 generations. That's quite incredible. They started off writing on leaves. And when paper was actually created, they started writing on paper. And some of the record here go back hundreds and hundreds of years.
We came here, to find our roots. And today we decided to leave some of our own as well. Perhaps our own family will see this hundreds of years from now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Sanjay, it's so amazing to see the scrolls with your family's history, I mean going back 40 generations. Few people have that kind of a record. Did you know that all of that was there?
GUPTA: You know, I'd heard rumors about this, Anderson. I had never seen the for myself. What happens is these priests, these pundits their families sort of keep records of families in that area for, for, you know, generations. They just keep passing it down from generation off to generation.
So these pundits, those priests doing it for us there, their great, great, great, great, great grandfathers used to do it for my great, great grandfathers. And it's just an amazing thing. And like I said in the piece, you can get the names of people. You can find out where they lived. But there are so many stories about them as well in there. And just figuring who, what kind of people your ancestors are, gives you such a place and sense of -- a place in -- in your life. And permanence. And so it was really, really powerful for all of us.
COOPER: I love they're called pundits. They're like the original cable news pundits. They're much more -- far different, obviously.
What do you actually write in the scrolls? What, what -- what did you want your ancestors to see hundreds of years from now.
GUPTA: I wrote a lot about my family and what we were doing with our lives right now. But I decided that I -- that I wanted to write a lot about the things that make me happy, the things that bring me real joy in my life. The things that maybe we don't talk enough about in our lives, day-to-day. I thought if my relatives, my descendants, hundreds of years from now, thousands of years from now, if they knew anything about me, they should know what joy was to me, what it meant to me. So that's what I decided to leave. We went to go find our roots but we wanted to leave messages as well.
COOPER: Wow. We only have about 30 seconds left but can you just briefly tell everybody how your mom and dad met? I love that story.
GUPTA: My parents both, they were living in the States. My mom was living in Oklahoma and was moving to Michigan because she was an engineer and wanted to get a job in the automotive capital of the world. And her car broke down in Ann Arbor. And, you know, she's a single, Indian woman, no friends, no money. Just a broken down car. So she goes to a phone booth and looks up the first Indian name she can find. And it's this guy who's last name is Patel. She calls that person, he doesn't answer but his roommate does. And his roommate is now her husband, my father. So an accidental phone call.
COOPER: That's incredible. I mean that's just an amazing, amazing story. Sanjay, so great to see you. Thanks so much.
That does it for us tonight. "CNN TONIGHT" with Don Lemon starts now.
