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CNN Live At Daybreak
Officials Admit They're Still Learning About Anthrax and How It's Spread
Aired October 29, 2001 - 05:00 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The latest on anthrax as it surfaces in yet another key federal never center.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Afghanistan, the ground shakes as U.S.-led air strikes go for the Taliban's front line.
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UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound...
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KAGAN: And the faces of loss -- families of those killed in the World Trade Center attacks go to ground zero to pay their respects.
HARRIS: Good morning. It is Monday, October 29, 2001, and from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Leon Harris.
KAGAN: Good morning. Happy Monday to you.
HARRIS: Same to you.
KAGAN: And good morning, everyone. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Let's go ahead and take a look at the latest developments as America strikes back in the war on terrorism.
HARRIS: U.S. jets were back in the skies over Kabul, Afghanistan today. Meanwhile, several loud explosions were reported in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
KAGAN: Back in the U.S., a Justice Department mail facility in suburban Maryland tested positive for anthrax, for the presence of anthrax. To be on the safe side, officials have closed the mailroom at the Justice Department's main building.
HARRIS: And a Supreme Court building is closed today for anthrax testing. The Justices are going to be working out of another building nearby until they get the all clear signal.
KAGAN: And United Airlines' CEO James Goodwin is stepping down. He will be replaced by John W. Creighton, a member of the company's board of directors. The airline industry has suffered huge economic losses in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Now we go to the latest on anthrax in the U.S. and the latest numbers for you. There are 13 confirmed anthrax infections. Three people have died from inhaled anthrax. Five people are being treated for anthrax in their lungs and five other people have skin anthrax infections. A total of 32 people are known to have been exposed to anthrax.
CDC officials confirm a case of inhalation anthrax in New Jersey. A postal worker at the mail processing facility in Hamilton Township has been infected. State health officials say the hospitalized worker's condition is improving.
Meanwhile, a Justice Department mail facility in suburban Landover, Maryland has tested positive for anthrax. As a precaution, officials have closed the mail room in the Justice Department's main building in central Washington. Health officials are playing extra safe with anthrax these days.
And as our Rhonda Rowland now tells us, health officials admit they're really still learning about anthrax and how it is spread.
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RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been almost one month since the first case of anthrax was discovered and scientists are admitting how little they know about the bacterium.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: What we are learning right now is that the standard textbook characteristics of this, namely a letter, opening a letter and it comes up into you and then you can get inhalation anthrax, finding that people are getting inhalation anthrax in a secondary and maybe even a tertiary site away from where the well documented anthrax letter was, that's something that was not suspected.
ROWLAND: At the same time, administration officials say it's possible anthrax tainted letters could still be stuck in the system.
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Our postal service, the FBI, are working very hard to understand all they can and we are asking people to be very careful.
ROWLAND: Still, the U.S. Postal Service wants to reassure the public there's no evidence yet of any new anthrax.
JOHN NOLAN, DEPUTY POSTMASTER GENERAL: Since this started we have delivered the equivalent of six pieces of mail to every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. Three pieces of mail have shown up with anthrax.
ROWLAND: But to be on the safe side, health officials are urging many mail room workers in Washington area businesses to start preventive antibiotic therapy. Instead of Cipro, these workers will be offered another antibiotic, Doxycycline, of which the government has plenty. DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: We've got to get America to understand that they don't have to live in the Cipro world any more, that as long as we are monitoring these strains and we have these antibiotics, they can be used effectively and used the same way that we use Ciprofloxacin.
ROWLAND: While everyone's mind is on anthrax, health officials are urging the public to think about the flu and preventing it.
(on camera): An alert from top health officials: it's time to get your flu shot. Since symptoms of the flu and inhalation anthrax are similar, getting more people vaccinated against the flu will cut down on emergency room visits and confusion over what the diagnosis really is.
Rhonda Rowland, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, the Bush administration is defending its reaction to the anthrax scare. Critics say that the official response has been inadequate and potentially life threatening. Dr. Michael Osterholm, who is director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, says that the anthrax scares are new territory for the government and the public.
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DR. EUGENE OSTERHOLM, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: We're in a war and frankly there's no reason we couldn't expect more anthrax to occur out there. And I think that as a country, we have to understand that just as the military has a thing called anticipated loses, a horrible thing -- and any death is horrible -- but the fact is Americans are going to have to understand yes, we have to live with this.
Your question, are we prepared for it? I think we're doing much more to prepare for it now than we did months ago. But, yes, we have a ways to go and we're working hard to get there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Osterholm says that health officials did nothing wrong in giving preventive anthrax treatments to congressional staff members before they did for postal workers. He says officials didn't think the powder could have leaked out in postal service areas.
KAGAN: A senior Bush administration official tells CNN the Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge will be the point main for the White House on the anthrax cases. He'll keep the president posted on the latest anthrax information. Ridge will also be responsible for briefing reporters on the cases. President Bush will chair the first meeting of his Homeland Security Council this afternoon.
HARRIS: Health officials are leaving no stone unturned in Washington. They're even shutting down the Supreme Court building to test for anthrax there. This is the first time in the building's 66 year history that the court will convene in another building. The Justices are going to be hearing their oral arguments today in a building about four blocks away. Tests conducted last week found no evidence of any anthrax in the Supreme Court building. Spores have shown up, though, in a warehouse that handles mail for the high court.
KAGAN: The clock is running for Congress to come up with an airport security bill. If the House and Senate can't agree on one, President Bush could impose some new rules of his own. The president wants Congress to give the federal government a lot of flexibility in imposing tough security standards at U.S. airports. If the House and Senate can't come up with something along those lines and do it quickly, a key Republican House member tells CNN that Mr. Bush may use his executive powers to go around Congress.
HARRIS: Seven minutes after the hour now and when our coverage of America's war on terrorism continues, this morning the U.S. steps up its air offensive in Afghanistan and it begins a new defensive war here at home.
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