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CNN Live Sunday

The Fight Against Anthrax

Aired October 28, 2001 - 15:29   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.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: From antibiotics to new mail equipment, experts are looking at a number of ways to prevent future anthrax attacks.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports on some of the strategies on the table.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clearly, this is a battle the U.S. wasn't fully prepared to fight, but forces are being marshalled on several battlefields. The postal service has already suffered two casualties, and is rushing to protect the rest of its troops. Thursday it began irradiating incoming government mail to the nation's capital, a process already used to kill bacteria in food.

JOHN POTTER, POSTMASTER GENERAL: We are out on the market buying electrobeams -- electron beam equipment that can penetrate the mail and kill any bacteria in the mail.

MESERVE: To get enough equipment in place to zap most of the mail in America will take six to 18 months.

On the medical front, there also has been a mobilization.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Health and Human Services will pay 95 cents per tablet, for a total initial order of 100 million tablets.

MESERVE: The antibiotic Cipro is being rushed to medical stockpiles. By the end of the year, the government hopes to have enough on hand to treat 12 million people for 60 days.

There is an anthrax vaccine, but questions have been raised about its safety, and it takes six doses over 18 months to become effective. Research published this week on the structure of the anthrax bacterium is raising hope for new therapies -- sometime.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: It would probably wind up taking, I would say, years at regular pace; less than that if we're, not only lucky, but if we put a very accelerated effort in.

MESERVE: Nose swabs are not a reliable test for anthrax exposure, and diagnosis of anthrax through blood and tissue samples can take five to seven days.

DR. THOMAS RYAN, PRINCE WILLIAM HOSPITAL: It would be great if we could have some sort of a quick test for this type of illness -- for anthrax that we could perform in the emergency department.

MESERVE: That would allow quicker treatment of those who are infected, and less treatment of those who aren't.

But how do you prevent anthrax exposure in the first place? There are field tests to detect anthrax, which take only minutes to perform, but they can be misleading, giving false negatives and false positives. And since the Gulf War, experts say, research into new technologies to detect anthrax and other biological and chemical threats has gotten little attention and even less funding. Only recently has a major research push gotten underway in private and government laboratories. No predictions on when a reliable technology will be deployed.

(on camera): There still are alarming gaps in the ability to fight this war, though the government seems willing to spend substantial resources and money. Experts hope officials take a comprehensive approach so the battle against anthrax leaves the nation in a better position to fight other battles against other biological and chemical agents that may yet be unleashed.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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