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CNN Live At Daybreak

America Strikes Back: Anthrax Investigation Takes New Tone in Florida

Aired October 09, 2001 - 07:00   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Fears unfounded -- less than an hour ago a doctor reported a Virginia man apparently does not have anthrax despite reports he had a connection to an anthrax victim in Florida. We will be live in Virginia and Florida during this hour. And in Afghanistan, the results of more attacks in America's war on terrorism.

Good morning, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. It is Tuesday, October 9. From New York, I'm Paula Zahn.

Joining me this morning from Atlanta, Bill Hemmer and Miles O'Brien -- good morning, gentlemen.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

ZAHN: OK, let's get right to the latest developments right now from Kandahar, new strikes at night then again in daylight. It has been four weeks since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. From Kabul, first pictures of the damage done by those missiles. Among the victims, four Afghan workers helping remove deadly mines left after the Afghan struggle against the Soviet Union.

Now, some breaking news from Manassas, Virginia, where health officials had been concerned about another possible case of anthrax.

Jeanne Meserve, our homeland security correspondent, is outside the Prince William Hospital with the very latest -- good morning, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

There is a 40-year-old man hospitalized here. He checked in last night. There were suspicions he might have anthrax. He suspected he might because of a connection with American Media, Inc. That is the company which owns the building in Florida where one employee has died and another has been shown to have been exposed to anthrax.

A short time ago, the director of emergency services here at Prince William Hospital had a press conference and filled us in on the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. THOMAS RYAN, PRINCE WILLIAM HOSPITAL: We had a patient present last night at around 6:00 p.m. with some symptoms that could be, that were flu like, but there was a connection to this AMI company, a remote connection. And so as a result of the directives that we've had from the health department to have a heightened surveillance, this patient was thoroughly worked up and checked into for anthrax.

And at this point in time, all the preliminary studies are negative. He's in stable condition. We have cultures that are pending in the state laboratory. We don't think that this is a case of anthrax at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Hospital officials tell us that the FBI has been informed of the situation. The connection with AMI, which you just heard the doctor refer to, turns out to be somewhat remote. This man, according to hospital officials, worked at a building in Fairfax, Virginia outside of Washington which was owned by AMI. At this point there's no indication he never traveled to Florida and was in the building where traces of the anthrax spore have been found.

Officials here do say he will be hospitalized for the near future. They're expecting culture results, the final, definitive results to be put up by the state laboratory probably within 24 hours. Hospital officials here saying that they were prepared for this eventuality, also urging the public not to be too concerned about this situation -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Jeanne, but once you test negative, do you test negative throughout the 45 day incubation period? I mean is this guy out of the woods completely?

MESERVE: It's my understanding that they will have the definitive results within 24 hours when these tests come back from the state lab. Again, they already have done preliminary testing here at this hospital, also down in Richmond, and all of those preliminary results have turned out to be negative.

Doctors here say they never would have treated this as a possible anthrax case except the man himself was concerned and raised this connection to AMI -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much for that update.

And now, after a Florida anthrax victim died and another is exposed, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer called it a source of concern. Coworkers of the man who died from the disease are now being tested.

Let's go to our own Mark Potter, who is standing by at the emergency operations center in West Palm Beach -- Mark.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Paula. As you can imagine, state and federal investigators here, law enforcement investigators, health investigators have their hands full. They're trying to answer a number of questions, how one man was exposed to anthrax, how another man was killed by the disease and how trace elements of anthrax was found in the building where they both worked, a lot more questions than answers.

The FBI is stepping up its investigation. The building involved, which is called American Media Incorporated -- it's in Boca Raton, Florida, which publishes tabloid newspapers -- has been shut down and sealed so that investigators can pore through the building. The man who died was a photo editor there, the man exposed to the disease but not infected, worked in the mail room.

Sources tell CNN that FBI agents will be looking at letters and packages mailed to the building. They will also be looking at people who had access to the building. That would include former and current employees.

The U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says that this case is being treated very seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We regard this as an investigation which could become a clear criminal investigation. And we are pursuing this with all the dispatch and care that's appropriate, relying on the expertise of the Centers for Disease Control and health authorities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POTTER: Now, authorities tell us that they have found a trace element of anthrax on the computer keyboard of Robert Stevens, the man who died. That was at his work space at American Media. And one official says that it matches the organisms, the anthrax organisms found in the bodies of both men, including the man exposed to the disease. He is 73-year-old Ernesto Blanco of North Miami, Florida, the man who worked in the mail room.

Law enforcement officials tell CNN that they still do not know what kind of anthrax this is but they say that it is something they have never seen before. An anthrax expert tells us that it is most likely to have been introduced into the building in some sort of small container rather than more broadly put through the building in something, say, like an air conditioning duct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP HANNA, ANTHRAX RESEARCHER: If it's something more like a letter or package that contains spores they may be localized to where those packages and letters were handled and opened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POTTER: This morning, the "Miami Herald" quotes Senator Bob Gramm as saying that he was told by the CDC that it is almost certain that this anthrax train was introduced from outside into the building. The question, of course, is how that was done and whether it was done accidentally or intentionally.

Now, meanwhile today, health officials here in Palm Beach County will continue to test workers at the building and anyone who visited the building since October 1. They are also being given antibiotics as a precaution and they are being told that the results of those tests to see whether any of them were exposed to anthrax could be at the very least days away. It could be longer than that, which, of course, raises the anxiety level here in Palm Beach County -- Paula, back to you.

ZAHN: So, Mark, how nervous are people in Florida who haven't gotten anywhere near that building but hear these stories and are concerned?

POTTER: Well, I think people are watching this very closely. But a point being made carefully by health department officials here is that this is not something that is spread person to person. So that may reduce some of the level of concern. But now it has changed from one person to now two. Now it's in a building. It seems to be slowly growing. And there was that report in Virginia, knocked down now by authorities, and other reports like it have been knocked down here in Florida.

So it's concerning people and they're watching it very closely for the latest developments. And in that regard, we are expecting another news conference here from authorities later this morning here in West Palm Beach.

ZAHN: All right, thanks so much, Mark.

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