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American Morning

Discussion with Director of CDC

Aired May 05, 2003 - 08:13   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: We want to update you now on what's happening with SARS. Already today in China, 160 new cases reported, and nine more deaths in that country. We're also finding out more right now from health officials in Hong Kong, learning that SARS can remain viable for at least four days in human waste. Another study says the disease can live for at least 24 hours on common surfaces like plastic.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, back with us live in Atlanta.

Doctor, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Good morning.

HEMMER: Based on the information you're hearing about surviving with inside of human beings, surviving on plastic, how does that change your approach to this disease?

GERBERDING: Well, you know, this is another step forward in our understanding of the virus. But we had some concerns about this from day one and that's why we've put such an emphasis on hand washing and maintaining the proper hygiene in the hospital and in the home.

HEMMER: If it is true that it can survive on plastic, does that make these masks that people are wearing worthless?

GERBERDING: No. That's apples and oranges here. The masks really prevent the dissemination of droplets of infectious material from one person to another. They should be discarded when they're over being used. But the main thing here, I think, is that common sense practices to prevent disease transmission, like hand washing, are probably very important with the corona virus, as well.

HEMMER: A good thing to learn and a good thing to reiterate, too.

Doctor, what's the current status for SARS in the U.S. today?

GERBERDING: Well, in the United States we have a total of about 319 suspected cases, or probable cases. Of those, about 62 meet the definition for the pneumonia. But we expect to continue to see these cases come in until the problem is really contained in China and Hong Kong and Taiwan.

So we're still casting a big net and we're doing everything we can to contain the problem here in the States.

HEMMER: Doctor, another report came out over the weekend indicating that SARS has mutated into two different forms.

If that is true, what challenge could that present?

GERBERDING: You know, I think it's a little bit incorrect to use the word mutated. We expect this virus to evolve as we go forward and right now there's no correlation between the new strains and the status of the disease. So we've got a lot of work to do before we can really make any sense out of that.

HEMMER: Yes, and what do you want viewers to know -- this has been out of the headlines, I want to say, for four or five days, which in some cases can be a lifetime. But knowing that it has not been on the forefront of people's minds for the past week or so, what should we know right now about the word you're getting out of Hong Kong and what it might take to contain and kill this?

GERBERDING: Well, I think the picture in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is very sobering. It tells us that if we have any weak link in the system, this virus very quickly can get out of control. That's why we are continuing to take all the steps necessary in this country to detect new cases and to isolate them in the hospital or the home until the period of contagion has passed.

The good news is that we can contain this virus if we maintain that vigilance. And I think if we work very hard in Asia, we'll be able to bring it under some containment there, also.

HEMMER: We've got about 10 seconds left.

Is it still wise, knowing that we do not know a whole lot about SARS, to pursue a vaccine?

GERBERDING: It's very important that we pursue a vaccine. Even if we're lucky enough to contain this episode, these viruses are probably here with us to stay.

HEMMER: Wow. Don't like to hear that.

Dr. Julie Gerberding from the CDC, live in Atlanta.

Thank you, Doctor, for coming back and shedding some light on this for us today.

Appreciate it.

GERBERDING: Thank you. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired May 5, 2003 - 08:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to update you now on what's happening with SARS. Already today in China, 160 new cases reported, and nine more deaths in that country. We're also finding out more right now from health officials in Hong Kong, learning that SARS can remain viable for at least four days in human waste. Another study says the disease can live for at least 24 hours on common surfaces like plastic.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, back with us live in Atlanta.

Doctor, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Good morning.

HEMMER: Based on the information you're hearing about surviving with inside of human beings, surviving on plastic, how does that change your approach to this disease?

GERBERDING: Well, you know, this is another step forward in our understanding of the virus. But we had some concerns about this from day one and that's why we've put such an emphasis on hand washing and maintaining the proper hygiene in the hospital and in the home.

HEMMER: If it is true that it can survive on plastic, does that make these masks that people are wearing worthless?

GERBERDING: No. That's apples and oranges here. The masks really prevent the dissemination of droplets of infectious material from one person to another. They should be discarded when they're over being used. But the main thing here, I think, is that common sense practices to prevent disease transmission, like hand washing, are probably very important with the corona virus, as well.

HEMMER: A good thing to learn and a good thing to reiterate, too.

Doctor, what's the current status for SARS in the U.S. today?

GERBERDING: Well, in the United States we have a total of about 319 suspected cases, or probable cases. Of those, about 62 meet the definition for the pneumonia. But we expect to continue to see these cases come in until the problem is really contained in China and Hong Kong and Taiwan.

So we're still casting a big net and we're doing everything we can to contain the problem here in the States.

HEMMER: Doctor, another report came out over the weekend indicating that SARS has mutated into two different forms.

If that is true, what challenge could that present?

GERBERDING: You know, I think it's a little bit incorrect to use the word mutated. We expect this virus to evolve as we go forward and right now there's no correlation between the new strains and the status of the disease. So we've got a lot of work to do before we can really make any sense out of that.

HEMMER: Yes, and what do you want viewers to know -- this has been out of the headlines, I want to say, for four or five days, which in some cases can be a lifetime. But knowing that it has not been on the forefront of people's minds for the past week or so, what should we know right now about the word you're getting out of Hong Kong and what it might take to contain and kill this?

GERBERDING: Well, I think the picture in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is very sobering. It tells us that if we have any weak link in the system, this virus very quickly can get out of control. That's why we are continuing to take all the steps necessary in this country to detect new cases and to isolate them in the hospital or the home until the period of contagion has passed.

The good news is that we can contain this virus if we maintain that vigilance. And I think if we work very hard in Asia, we'll be able to bring it under some containment there, also.

HEMMER: We've got about 10 seconds left.

Is it still wise, knowing that we do not know a whole lot about SARS, to pursue a vaccine?

GERBERDING: It's very important that we pursue a vaccine. Even if we're lucky enough to contain this episode, these viruses are probably here with us to stay.

HEMMER: Wow. Don't like to hear that.

Dr. Julie Gerberding from the CDC, live in Atlanta.

Thank you, Doctor, for coming back and shedding some light on this for us today.

Appreciate it.

GERBERDING: Thank you. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com