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CNN Live At Daybreak
America Strikes Back: New Developments in Florida Anthrax Case
Aired October 10, 2001 - 08:50 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: There are new developments in that Florida anthrax case, and they are raising the possibility now of criminal activity. Investigators say preliminary testing shows the strain that turned up in Boca Raton was manufactured at a facility in the state of Iowa about 50 years ago. However, they do not know how it got to Florida. One employee died of inhalation anthrax on Friday. A second employee tested positive for expose you are to the bacteria. Investigators say a positive match between the anthrax strain which killed Robert Stephens would move the case a step closer to a full- blown criminal investigation.
These developments heighten the concern about possibilities of bioterrorism in the U.S. and whether the country is prepared or not to defend against it. Two reporters watching this angle of the story, medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland, standing outside the CDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that is here in the city of Atlanta, and Jeff Flock in a supply store in Skokie, Illinois this morning.
HEMMER: Rhonda, let's begin with you, you're closest. Good morning.
RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Here at the CDC. Of course, this is a federal agency for disease tracking and prevention. This agency is not advising the public on how to prepare against a possible biological or chemical attack. Instead, they would refer people to the Red Cross. The Red Cross has advice preparing for any emergency, whether it's a tornado, flood, power outage, and what they advise is people collect a three-gallon supply of water, a bottle per person per day, three-day supply of food, of nonperishables, a flashlight, battery-powered radio, extra batteries, first aid kit, and prescription drugs.
Now the CDC is, however, advising against hording medications, antibiotics, especially people thinking that they can get antibiotics that to prevent a case of anthrax. The reason for that is many people will not commit to the 60-day regimen that is required. Also by taking antibiotics when you don't need them increases the chances of antibiotic resistance against diseases, and also if you start medicating, you could be hiding a illness or disease that does have a good treatment. Also the CDC is advising against buying and hoarding gas masks, and the reason for this is because there have been cases of people suffocating. In fact, during the Gulf War, in Israel, at least eight people suffocated from improper use of gas masks. And now on that note, we'll go to CNN's Jeff Flock in Skokie, Illinois.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Rhonda. Hello to you.
This is a place, American Science and Surplus, a place that typically sells all sorts of scientific and surplus equipment around this time of the year, not doing a whole lot of typically business and survival here, but that's just what they're doing right now, busy filling orders. There is a big catalog operation, and I'm with Phil Cable (ph), that runs the company.
And you're getting a run on things like, we're just talking about gas masks, which the CDC is saying, don't buy these, don't hoard these, but you're selling a ton of them. What's the deal.
PHIL CABLE: This is an Israeli gas mask. We might sell one or two of these a week the weekend after the attack. We sold about 70 of these over the Web alone.
FLOCK: And you are telling people what about these?
CABLE: This is not going to help you in a emergency. You don't know what kind of filter is on this, you don't know how to use it properly.
FLOCK: And what do they tell you?
CABLE: We'll take four please. We can't keep them in stock. We're out of stock right now.
FLOCK: You've got other stuff as well. What are these things?
CABLE: This is a HAZMAT hood. We normally sell these for Halloween costumes and the such, but in the past few weeks, we've sold many times normal. I don't know what they are doing with them specifically.
FLOCK: One of these things you get -- you've got this e-mail. This intrigues me. A guy who says he lives on the a 14th floor of the apartment, and he wants, what is it, an aircraft cable that you sell?
CABLE: We sell some very strong aircraft steel cable.
FLOCK: He wants to rappel down the building.
CABLE: He's attempted to construct a device that will lower himself and his wife 14 stories down the outside of their building.
FLOCK: Wow. This is an indication of the mindset of some of the people you are dealing with right now.
CABLE: Yes, and people seem very concerned, and they are stocking up on a lot of the same stuff that we sold right before Y2K.
FLOCK: You've got a Web site I know out there for anybody that wants to plug in. What is it, Phil?
CABLE: It's sciplus.com -- S-C-I-P-L-U-S.com.
FLOCK: OK. Very good. We will continue to watch it here. Obviously, they are busy over in that catalog operation, sending this kind of equipment out, really some indication of just where people's heads are this morning in America.
Back to you.
HEMMER: Good to know. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Rhonda, as well,
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