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Researchers Find Disturbing Similarities Between Bird Flu and Spanish Flu; Race on in Toronto to Identify Killer Virus; Vaccine Believed to Prevent Cervical Cancer

Aired October 06, 2005 - 11:31   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are just past the half hour. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Here's what's happening now in the news. President Bush says the U.S. has disrupted three Al Qaeda attacks planned for U.S. soil and seven others worldwide since 9/11. That word today in a speech on terrorism, one the White House was billing as major. The president says the war on terror will require more time and sacrifice.

NATO is planning to add several thousand troops to its roster in Afghanistan. The forces would deploy in the southern areas of the country. That's where Taliban holdouts are most active. Eventually, the U.S. hopes to reduce troop levels in those regions.

And an ex-Marine who worked at the White House is under suspicion today. Leandro Aragoncillo spent three years in the office of the vice president. Multiple U.S. government sources tell CNN he funneled top secret information to the Philippines. Aragoncillo has not been indicted.

And now to health news. The threat of a bird flu pandemic is real enough that the federal government is hosting a two-day conference on the subject. It starts today at the National Academy of Sciences, hosted by the state department.

Since the virus was first diagnosed in humans eight years ago, 61 people have died in Southeast Asia. U.S. health experts feel that virus will mutate and spread to the global population with catastrophic results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LEAVITT, HHS SECY.: Containment is our first strategy. We also need to have surveillance domestically, so if it shows up here, we know about it very quickly. We need to have anti-viral drugs when people get sick. We need to have vaccines to prevent it. We need to have local communities that are prepared, because a pandemic is something that happens all over the country at the same time. It's also the type of disaster that doesn't happen in a short period. It happens over a year. This is a unique type of problem that we need to be better prepared for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And researchers have found disturbing similarities between bird flu and the Spanish flu that killed millions back in 1918.

Our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a closer look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back in 1918, the medical advice was basic: avoid crowds, wear a mask, hope for the best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every morning when you got up, you asked who died during the night. Death was there all the time.

GUPTA: Ken Corrati (ph) didn't die. He lived through the 1918 flu pandemic. He was lucky. Virtually everyone on earth breathed in the so-called Spanish Flu. And it killed tens of millions of people around the world.

Now, researchers Jeffery Taubenberger and Terry Tumbe (ph) say they have found a frightening similarity in the genetic make-up of the 1918 virus and the flu now sweeping birds in Asia. That avian flu has already killed more than 60 people. Taubenberger said the 1918 flu was almost certainly another avian flu that came from birds and somehow acquired the ability to pass quickly from person to person.

DR. JEFFERY TAUBENBERGER, ARMED FORCED INST. OF PATHOLOGY: We find its kind of eerie that there are some parallels between the 1918 and the current H5 viruses.

GUPTA: The bird flu in Asia, also called H5N1, has not yet developed the means to jump easily from person to person. But what's disturbing scientists is the way the current virus mutates.

Much like that killer flu of 1918, if the bird flu did develop person to person infection, given the global economy, airline travel, and relatively open borders, public health officials warn a modern pandemic could spread within days killing millions.

TAUBENBERGER: Right now we can't say with certainly whether H5 viruses are adapting to humans or not. We really have no way to measure that. But we are doing surveillance now.

GUPTA: To get clues about what to look for, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention have been carefully studying the 1918 flu virus. In high security containment labs, scientists infected mice with a recreated version of the old flu. The mice died, and fast.

Tamiflu, a prescription drug, helped some mice survive. What's not clear is whether that drug would work if avian flu mutates from infecting birds to infecting people. Back in 1918 when Kenneth Corrati watched so many of his neighbors die, the treatment options were very limited.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were no antibiotics. It was just hope that you would get through, that faith was kind enough that it wouldn't hit you or yours.

GUPTA: Scientists warn that while they are getting a better understanding of the current bird flu from the 1918 version, if the virus mutates, there's little that could be done to stop a global outbreak.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And so get this idea, there are some doctors out there that suggest the best way to prevent the spread in this country is giving vaccinations flu shots to your 3 and 4-year-old children. We'll talk about that ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Also as if bird flu isn't scary enough, the race is on in Toronto to identify a killer virus. About 90 people associated with a nursing home have come down with the mysterious disease.

Our Keith Oppenheim has the latest on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Seven Oaks Home for the Aged in suburban Toronto is under attack. The culprit, a virus that still has not been identified. It was just a week and a half ago some of the most vulnerable patients at Seven Oaks began to get very ill.

DR. DAVID MCKEOWN, TORONTO DEPT. OF PUBLIC HEALTH: This outbreak has resulted today in six additional deaths among ill residents.

OPPENHEIM: Toronto public health officials now report the death toll has risen to 16 residents of the nursing home. All had previous medical conditions. Most were in their 80s and 90s.

In addition, 72 other people have been infected by the virus. Some are staff at Seven Oaks, some visitors. One woman whose husband is a resident worried about the unknown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're doing their best -- let's put it that way -- to get it under control, but what it really is, I don't know.

OPPENHEIM: Three different labs in Canada are trying to identify the virus. But, it turns out, in more than half of outbreaks like this, health officials in Ontario are unable to isolate the source of the disease.

DR. BARBARA YAFEE, ASSOCIATE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH: The significant percentage of outbreaks you just will never find the organism. But we're looking for everything we can think of.

OPPENHEIM: Thirty-eight people exposed to the virus have been taken to Toronto hospitals. Officials say the health of some patients deteriorating and most are getting better. A 9-year-old boy wondered what will happen to his grandfather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope the hospital is safer and that he can eat healthy and not die.

OPPENHEIM: In the meantime, the nursing home has been closed to new patients and is for the most part keeping its doors shut.

AL DOBBINS, SEVEN OAKS RESIDENT: To me, it's been cooped up. You know? I mean, I'm so -- I'm so used to the outside. You know? And all of a sudden, bang.

OPPENHEIM: As dire as all this may seem, health experts here say this is an extreme example of a common occurrence. Across Canada and the U.S., viral outbreaks routinely kill elderly and sick patients with weakened immune systems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's within the range of our experience in Ontario, but it's definitely at the severe end.

OPPENHEIM: With no new cases reported in the last 24 hours, health experts here believe the mysterious outbreak is being contained. They say it poses no danger to the general public. But for the people who have relatives at Seven Oaks, it may be sometime before they can feel that the threat of contagious illness is behind them.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Toronto.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Lemonade for life? little Alex Scott left an inspiring legacy with her lemonade stand. Now the foundation she started is one of the largest for pediatric cancer research. We're going to will check in with mom, with Liz Scott, when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: President Bush honoring and coming face to face with conservative godfather William F. Buckley this hour. Buckley's publication "The National Review" criticizes the president's Supreme Court nominee. An editorial calls Harriet Miers a missed opportunity. The president, though, is marking the magazine's 50th anniversary. A lot of celebration in Washington today, not just for this, but also a big black tie dinner tonight, honoring "National Review."

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Possible medical breakthrough to tell you about this morning. Drug giant Merck says it's come up with a vaccine that can prevent one type of cancer. If that's true, it appears that Gardasil -- is that the right way to say it?

DR. LISA FLOWERS, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Yes. KAGAN: Gardasil would be the first cancer vaccine. Merck claims Gardasil is 100 percent effective. Now, it targets two sexually transmitted viruses. Those viruses cause most cervical cancers. To be effective, women would have to be vaccinated before they get the viruses.

Let's talk to Dr. Lisa Flowers about Merck's new drug. She teaches gynecologic oncology at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Flowers, good morning. Good to see you here....

FLOWERS: Good morning.

KAGAN: ... have you here with us. OK, first of all, important. And this is just important for especially young women to know. The link between sexually transmitted diseases and cervical cancer?

FLOWERS: Well, the human papilloma virus 16 and 18 are the ones mainly associated with cervical cancer and they are transmitted sexually. So it is important for us to -- if any plans to use a prophylactic vaccine to use it prior to sexual intercourse. It is something that can be acquired with just one or two sexual partners, as well as many. And this was something in the past, we had all these risk factors associated to acquiring this virus, but now we know a lot of these changed.

KAGAN: And something that a lot of young women overlook because you hear about AIDS, you hear about herpes. This is a whole other thing that could lead to very severe problems. So how does this virus work? How does the vaccine work?

FLOWERS: Well, the way the vaccine works, it actually acts like any other vaccine. It actually mounts an immune response. And what's good about it is the immune response from this vaccine is 60 times more potent than having a natural infection and acquiring the immune response from an infection. So it's very powerful. And therefore, it just actually provokes the immune system to actually build antibodies against infection so that infection is not able to set in and then obviously, integrate itself into the cells and then cause pre- cancerous changes

KAGAN: So in these tests -- in this testing, they gave this vaccine to a lot of women and they found that none of them developed cervical cancer?

FLOWERS: Well, they did 12,000 -- over 12,000 women were actually incorporated into the trial. Some that were randomized equally to a placebo or to the vaccine itself. And what they found there were no cases of women that actually acquired what we call high grade pre-cancerous changes, that being Syn (ph) 1, Syn 2.

KAGAN: This is when you get your pap smear and they tell you, things don't look too good.

FLOWERS: Not only the pap smear, but the biopsies resulting from the pap smear. So we actually histological proof that the women who have the vaccine show no evidence of high grade disease or cancer during the vaccination period, compared to the placebo cases that actually had a percentage of those that acquired high-grade changes and pre-cancerous changes that could put them at risk for cancer.

KAGAN: So this is going to become available? I mean, should people run out and get this?

FLOWERS: Well, we're waiting for FDA approval. And, obviously they're going to submit it to FDA towards the end of the year. And with FDA approval of the drug, then it will be able to be used widespread around the country.

KAGAN: And, of course, this is something you would talk about with your own gynecologist. But it would seem to me the suggestion would be that any sexually active and especially young women should consider getting.

FLOWERS: Absolutely. This is going to be mostly targeted to teenagers. Because, naturally, we want it before this exposure actually occurs.

KAGAN: But the problem with that, it brings a whole other conversation about teenage sexuality that especially some teenagers might not feel comfortable talking about with their doctor or with their parents.

FLOWERS: Well, what we're going -- hoping -- we hope that providers do is actually approach the teenagers saying we have a vaccine that could prevent you from having cancer in the future. And we would like -- and unfortunately, the virus itself is transmitted sexually. We need to truly know when you're starting to have sexual intercourse so we can prevent this cancer. And we really want to focus on the fact that it's preventive against cancer and not the idea of...

KAGAN: Exactly. I mean, this is a huge step forward, especially when you're talking about a cancer vaccine. But are you sending a false message of hope to young women? You take this and you protect yourself against cancer, but there's a whole other long list...

FLOWERS: Absolutely.

KAGAN: ... of sexually transmitted diseases that women would still leave themselves at risk to and they might have a false sense of security.

FLOWERS: Absolutely. We are going to still have to reinforce the risk of other common sexually transmitted diseases, like gonorrhea and chlamydia, the ability to contract AIDS or HIV. These things are going to still have to be reinforced. But being the fact that HPV is the second most common STD around in the United States, we really truly have to work one step at a time with each sexually transmitted disease or with each disease process and try to combat them individually.

KAGAN: A fascinating development. Dr. Lisa Flowers from Emory University. Thank you... FLOWERS: Thank you very much.

KAGAN ... for making the time for us. Appreciate it.

And we're going to encourage you to protect your health by learning as much as you can. For more information about this cervical cancer vaccine, go to our Web site. Follow the links to CNN.com/health. Besides the latest medical news, you'll also find a health library and information on diet and fitness.

Coming up, we're going to revisit with a friend of this program, Liz Scott. Her daughter Alex, a huge inspiration with her young life. We'll find out what's happening with her foundation, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: From time to time we have told you about a remarkable young girl, Alex Scott, a little girl who lost her battle against cancer just about a year ago, but she left behind an inspiring legacy known as Alex's Lemonade Stand. Now this is one of the country's foremost fund-raising foundations for pediatric cancer research. Beginning on Saturday, Volvo car dealerships will help with the nine- day fund-raiser.

Liz Scott, Alex's mom, is here with the progress report.

Liz, so great to see you again

LIZ SCOTT, ALEX SCOTT'S MOTHER: Hi. Thank you for having me on again.

KAGAN: Tell me how this will work

SCOTT: From October 8th to 16th, Volvo dealers across the country will be hosting lemonade stands in their dealerships, and they'll also be offering test drives. For every test drive, they're going to give $20 to Alex's Lemonade Stand, and a lot of that will go back to support their local children's hospitals as well.

KAGAN: So are going to there be actual kids manning the stands at these dealerships?

SCOTT: The dealerships have taken it on themselves. That's the beauty of this. It's really a grassroots effort on their behalf. Some of them will certainly have their children there. Some of them will have their employees there. Anybody who wants to help out is welcome, I'm sure.

KAGAN: And remind us of your remarkable daughter and her incredible idea at such a young age.

Alex was just four when she decided to raise money for childhood cancer by having a lemonade stand in our front yard. She had already been battling cancer for three years, so she knew that research is what was needed to save the lives of children like herself.

KAGAN: And this has grown incredibly.

SCOTT: It has grown literally from our front yard to a nationwide movement. This year, there's been thousands of lemonade stands across the country. We've raised over $2 million. We have $2 million more to go to our $5 million goal. We're still optimistic and we're enthusiastic, and we have thousands of people, volunteers supporting us. And anybody's welcome to join in the effort.

KAGAN: The other neat thing about this fund-raiser, some of the money goes to the Alex's Lemonade Stand, the national fund, but a lot of it stays in the individual community where's the money is raised.

SCOTT: Yes, that's correct. The individual retailer, the Volvo retailers, were given the option of donating the money to us and having us donate it back to support their local children's hospitals in their communities, which is very important to the people who are coming out to support the effort locally.

KAGAN: I know it's been just over a year since Alex died. How has this effort and carrying on her dream helped you with your grief?

SCOTT: It's -- I mean I can't imagine not having it. It's helped me tremendously. It's been crazy and difficult at times, but I'm so grateful to have it, and I truly feel it was Alex's gift to me and so many others who have been inspired by her.

KAGAN: Americans are such generous people, and I know You've seen that with this charity, and we've also seen it with all the money that people have donated to Hurricane Katrina, and to Rita and to those victims. Do you anticipate that will have an effect? People only have so much in their pockets that they can give away. And they've given so much. Is there a fear that there won't be other money to give to smaller charities like yours?

SCOTT: I think that people respond to the needs. And I certainly would never say that it's a fear, because I think it's wonderful, the outpouring of support for the victims of the hurricane, and it needs to continue. Childhood cancer, the cause of childhood cancer needs to continue. And we find that people are generous beyond what their abilities are oftentimes. So there's really no concern on our part. We just want everybody to get what they need and live long, happy lives.

KAGAN: And tell us once again where people can get more information.

SCOTT: They can get more information about Alex's Lemonade Stand at alexslemonade.org. If they're looking for a Volvo retailer, they can go to volvoforlifeawards.com.

KAGAN: Liz Scott, always great to see you. We wish you well with the drive. I guess it literally is the drive, isn't it, since you've got a Volvo dealership. Good to see you.

SCOTT: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Thanks for stopping by.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Coming up in the next hour, flu season is approaching. Does your child need a flu shot? We're going to talk about the findings of one study in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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