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CNN Saturday Morning News

Man Dies of Anthrax in Florida

Aired October 06, 2001 - 09:34   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we're going to go to a 63-year- old man diagnosed with anthrax. He's dead this morning after he was taken to an emergency room Tuesday in Florida but never regained consciousness.

CNN's Mark Potter joins us now from Palm Beach County with an update on what's being done to find out how the man contracted anthrax. Sorry about the confusion there, Mark.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, there's been a lot of confusion on this story throughout. It's a complicated one and it's an unusual one. But sadly, what we do know is that Robert Stevens (ph) died here yesterday afternoon here at the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida. This very unusual, rare case of pulmonary anthrax has sparked a widespread public health investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): At the home of the victim in Lantana, Florida, investigators from the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed household items for testing. The question, how was 63-year-old Robert Stevens exposed to anthrax? It is old-fashioned detective work, what one official calls "shoe leather public health."

The case begins early Tuesday between 2 and 2:30 a.m., when Stevens' wife brings him to this emergency room in Atlantis near West Palm Beach. He has a high fever, is confused and vomiting.

Dr. Larry Bush, an infectious disease specialist, arrives on the scene that morning.

DR. LARRY BUSH, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: The emergency room had done a spinal tap before I got there, and when we looked at the spinal fluid under the microscope, the organisms looked like those type of organisms that would fit into the class of the family where bacillus anthrax would be.

POTTER: That afternoon, the Palm Beach County Health Department is alerted, and cultures are shipped to a state laboratory. Immediately, county health investigators mobilize.

DR. JEAN MALECKI, PALM BEACH COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: I had a full team of four epidemiological specialists with me. We interviewed the wife at length for many, many hours. I personally reviewed all the medical information here.

POTTER: By 8:30 Thursday morning, state officials confirmed the anthrax diagnosis, and the CDC notifies Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson in Washington. Thompson immediately tells national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, who then alerts President Bush.

The White House's concern, in part, this might be a national security issue because some of the hijackers had recently spent time in south Florida. Thursday afternoon, when the CDC lab confirms the diagnosis, Secretary Thompson meets with the president, and it is decided that Thompson will go public with the news to reassure Americans that an isolated case of anthrax has been found, and that it is not contagious.

TOMMY THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: There's no evidence of terrorism.

POTTER: Meanwhile, a command center is set up in West Palm Beach, and more than 50 investigators are dispatched in teams of five or six to try to retrace the victim's steps and to determine if others have been infected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

This widespread investigation also involves several counties in North Carolina, where Stevens vacationed last week. Now, public health officials say the reassuring news so far is that they have found no other cases of anthrax.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: And that's good news. Mark Potter, thanks so much.

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