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American Morning
House Call: Two Soldiers Suffer Severe Reaction to Smallpox Shots
Aired February 06, 2003 - 07:52 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: Time to talk about your health this morning. In today's medical segment, the concerns surrounding smallpox vaccinations have been spreading, and now two soldiers have reportedly suffered severe reactions from the shot.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on assignment this morning, so we're going to turn our attention to our highly-talented and smart medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, who joins us now from Atlanta.
Good morning -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, thank you, Paula. What a wonderful way to start my day.
Paula, these two reactions statistically speaking were expected. One soldier developed encephalitis after being vaccinated against smallpox. That's swelling of the brain. He is expected to be released from the hospital soon. The other soldier developed a rash and is already back at work.
Statistically speaking, when you vaccinate a million people against smallpox, 1 or 2 will die, and 60 will have serious or life- threatening illnesses. And this is reported in today's "USA Today."
There's also another story that we're following today, and that has to do with biotech pigs. At the University of Illinois, they did a genetically-engineering study, where they engineered mother pigs to change their milk. And so, when the piglets drank the milk, they were supposed to grow faster. Well, those piglets, according to the FDA, were supposed to be slaughtered, but instead the University of Illinois sent them to market.
Now, the university says and the FDA says that no one's at risk if they eat that meat, but the FDA says the university broke the rules. The university says they did nothing wrong -- Paula.
ZAHN: So, what were their concerns about this particular meat?
COHEN: Well, the FDA says that they are not concerned. They say that the piglets are supposed to have high levels -- they're supposed to have growth hormone in their meat anyhow, so they may have a little more growth hormone in their meat. But they say that you're not going to get sick. It's not going to affect you to eat this meat.
But they said that they made it clear -- the government made it clear to the University of Illinois, you need to destroy these 386 piglets, do not sell them to the market. The university says that was not made clear to them, and they say there was nothing wrong with putting them on the market.
But again, no public health concerns.
ZAHN: Good to hear. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
COHEN: OK, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Smallpox Shots>
Aired February 6, 2003 - 07:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk about your health this morning. In today's medical segment, the concerns surrounding smallpox vaccinations have been spreading, and now two soldiers have reportedly suffered severe reactions from the shot.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on assignment this morning, so we're going to turn our attention to our highly-talented and smart medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, who joins us now from Atlanta.
Good morning -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, thank you, Paula. What a wonderful way to start my day.
Paula, these two reactions statistically speaking were expected. One soldier developed encephalitis after being vaccinated against smallpox. That's swelling of the brain. He is expected to be released from the hospital soon. The other soldier developed a rash and is already back at work.
Statistically speaking, when you vaccinate a million people against smallpox, 1 or 2 will die, and 60 will have serious or life- threatening illnesses. And this is reported in today's "USA Today."
There's also another story that we're following today, and that has to do with biotech pigs. At the University of Illinois, they did a genetically-engineering study, where they engineered mother pigs to change their milk. And so, when the piglets drank the milk, they were supposed to grow faster. Well, those piglets, according to the FDA, were supposed to be slaughtered, but instead the University of Illinois sent them to market.
Now, the university says and the FDA says that no one's at risk if they eat that meat, but the FDA says the university broke the rules. The university says they did nothing wrong -- Paula.
ZAHN: So, what were their concerns about this particular meat?
COHEN: Well, the FDA says that they are not concerned. They say that the piglets are supposed to have high levels -- they're supposed to have growth hormone in their meat anyhow, so they may have a little more growth hormone in their meat. But they say that you're not going to get sick. It's not going to affect you to eat this meat.
But they said that they made it clear -- the government made it clear to the University of Illinois, you need to destroy these 386 piglets, do not sell them to the market. The university says that was not made clear to them, and they say there was nothing wrong with putting them on the market.
But again, no public health concerns.
ZAHN: Good to hear. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
COHEN: OK, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Smallpox Shots>
