By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer
EVERETT — It was an unusual scene: Amid the elegant surroundings of the Everett Golf and Country Club, an Army doctor Friday described to area health care workers how a single gram of anthrax weighing less than a paper clip could potentially kill hundreds.
Major Andrew Wiesen, chief of epidemiology and disease control at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, said that even though the number of deaths so far caused by the anthrax exposures is relatively small, "the panic created by that is very effective."
Wiesen spoke to about 250 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals at the Everett Golf and Country Club Friday on the topic of anthrax and smallpox, part of an educational seminar on bioterrorism sponsored by Providence Everett Medical Center.
"We’ve heard many stories of people being concerned," Wiesen said. "It’s a learning curve for everybody on how to deal with this."
So far, 10 cases of the inhaled form of anthrax have been diagnosed nationally, resulting in four deaths. Another seven cases of the skin form of anthrax have been discovered. No cases of anthrax have been documented in Washington state.
Following the speech, Snohomish County health care workers said they have had questions from patients about both anthrax and smallpox.
"We’re seeing a few patients worried that they were exposed," said Dr. Tom Robbie, who has worked at Providence Everett Medical Center’s emergency room for 20 years. "But we haven’t seen a patient come in with anything other than fear," he said.
Pat Slater, an internal medicine nurse at Everett Clinic, said she has received phone calls from adults with questions about the smallpox vaccine. Although there are government supplies of the vaccine, none is now available to the public.
Susan Oldenkamp-Dazey, a dermatologist, said she sometimes prescribes the antibiotic Cipro, which has gained national attention for battling anthrax infections, for patients with skin conditions.
Following one such prescription, "when we went to refill it, we had to call several pharmacies to get it," she said.
Dr. Tony Roon, who oversees trauma services at Providence Everett Medical Center, said "there’s an index of suspicion" among the public following the recent anthrax cases.
This could grow worse during flu season, he acknowledged, since the early symptoms of anthrax — fever, cough and headache — can closely mimic the flu.
The runny noses that accompany the flu often are a telltale sign it is not anthrax.
At Providence Everett Medical Center, all hospital workers are being advised to get flu shots, he added.
Dr. M. Ward Hinds, who heads the Snohomish Health District, said that’s a good step for the general public to follow. Those who have had the shot shouldn’t assume that if they get flulike symptoms they have been exposed to anthrax, he said.
The flu shot is about 80 percent effective, and there are a number of other viruses that cause flulike symptoms.
"So it’s much more likely you have one of those," Hinds said.
You can call Herald Writer Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486
or send e-mail to salyer@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
