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CNN Live At Daybreak
America Strikes Back: FBI Takes Over Anthrax Investigation in Florida
Aired October 09, 2001 - 07:43 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI has taken the lead in investigating questions now about anthrax contamination. A Florida man has already died of the disease and one of his coworkers found to have been exposed to anthrax bacterium but has not yet developed a full blown case.
From Tallahassee, Florida to talk more about it, Florida Secretary of Health Dr. John Agqunobi. Doctor, good morning to you.
DR. JOHN AGQUNOBI, FLORIDA SECRETARY OF HEALTH: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Clarify this, if you could. If this man has come in contact with anthrax and it's such a lethal device, why is he still alive today?
AGQUNOBI: That's a good question. In actual fact, we believe that it's probably just the spores that were sitting in his nasal cavities when we recovered them using a nasal swab.
HEMMER: So he's exposed and that's the difference between being infected, correct?
AGQUNOBI: That's correct. He doesn't have the classical symptoms or a symptom constellation that would make his physicians feel that he has anthrax, the disease.
HEMMER: It's my understanding workers who have been in and out of that building dating back to the first of August will be tested. Why the first of August?
AGQUNOBI: Typically in an epidemiological investigation of anthrax we would go back 60 days. Hence the date.
HEMMER: How long will you know, then, will investigators know if other people have been infected or affected?
AGQUNOBI: Probably about two to three days for the test results to come back. Those, for those in whom we identify that they've been exposed, if there are any, it would probably take us a day or two.
HEMMER: So then clarify this. If it takes two or three days to get the results back and the incubation period can go anywhere between, what, three days and six weeks, how do you link together the two?
AGQUNOBI: I'm not sure -- what we're doing -- by, what your question means. But what we are doing right now is we are trying to identify possibly are there others who have been exposed.
HEMMER: Now, you also know about this letter that's been talked about. If, indeed, that is the case -- and again, we don't want to enter into this area of speculation -- but if this letter possibly carried that anthrax into that building, would you then have to go back through the entire postal line and find out and try to figure it anyway who may have had contact with that letter?
AGQUNOBI: There's a really vigorous investigation ongoing led by the FBI within that building. I would imagine that they would follow all leads and every opportunity to try and find out exactly how the anthrax got into the building.
HEMMER: Got it. As the Florida secretary of health, what are you telling the people in Florida?
AGQUNOBI: I'm asking the people of Florida to remain calm. All indications, all evidence that we have right now indicates that the only cases of anthrax are in the two individuals who worked in that building and a keyboard that was contaminated within that building, Mr. Stevens' keyboard. It seems to us at this point in our investigation that there is nothing outside of the building that leads us to believe anyone else is at risk.
However, our investigation is ongoing.
HEMMER: Yes. We were told that this was natural last week, that it was probably, doctors said, found in Florida's soil, possibly within that state. Now we know that is not the case. How has that changed things?
AGQUNOBI: I'm not sure that we have ruled that out as being a possibility. All options remain very viable and we are investigating all options available to us very aggressively.
HEMMER: So then what you're saying is that it could have been in Florida originally?
AGQUNOBI: We don't know. The truth of the matter is there are many more questions than answers. Our investigation is designed to try and find us answers to that exact question.
HEMMER: Got it. Clarification well noted. Do you have an 800 number? Let's put that out there for viewers who have questions.
AGQUNOBI: I would advise viewers to contact their local county health departments or their state government health departments for more information.
HEMMER: Got it. I've got a number here, 800-342-3557. Does that ring a bell? AGQUNOBI: That's the number we're asking local individuals down in Palm Beach to call if they feel they were in the building down there.
HEMMER: OK. Thanks for clarifying things with us this morning, OK?
AGQUNOBI: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Come on back.
AGQUNOBI: Thank you.
HEMMER: John Agqunobi there, Florida's secretary of health, live with us this morning in Tallahassee.
And at 13 minutes before the hour, we will get a quick break here. Back with more in a moment.
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