WEBVTT

00:01.534 --> 00:03.003 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
GEOFF BENNETT: Parts of New
England are#
on high alert after health
officials in##

00:03.003 --> 00:05.672 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
New Hampshire this week
confirmed the first death##

00:05.672 --> 00:10.410 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
from the rare mosquito-borne
virus#
known as eastern equine
encephalitis.

00:10.410 --> 00:15.715 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
It brings the total number of
confirmed human#
infections in the U.S. this year
to six,##

00:15.715 --> 00:20.086 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
including cases in Wisconsin,
New Jersey#
and the neighboring states of
Vermont and##

00:20.086 --> 00:24.290 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
Massachusetts. Meantime,
hundreds of#
cases of another illness
transmitted##

00:24.290 --> 00:29.796 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
by mosquitoes -- that's West
Nile virus#
-- have been confirmed across 33
states.

00:29.796 --> 00:34.968 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
It paralyzed a teenager in
Missouri#
and hospitalized Dr. Anthony
Fauci.##

00:34.968 --> 00:39.305 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
The country's former top
infectious#
disease expert told the outlet
STAT:##

00:39.305 --> 00:41.641 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"I have never been as sick in my
life."

00:41.641 --> 00:43.943 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
To help us understand more about
these viruses,##

00:43.943 --> 00:48.748 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
the risks they pose and how they
spread,#
we're joined now by Dr. Peter
Hotez,##

00:48.748 --> 00:53.553 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
dean of the National School of
Tropical#
Medicine at Baylor College of
Medicine.

00:53.553 --> 00:55.588 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Welcome back to the "News Hour."

00:55.588 --> 00:57.357 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
DR. PETER HOTEZ, Baylor College
of#
Medicine: Thanks for having me,
Geoff.

00:57.357 --> 01:02.595 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
GEOFF BENNETT: We have now seen
the first death#
from the eastern equine
encephalitis v..

01:02.595 --> 01:07.767 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
Tell us more about this disease,
how it spreads,#
and why New England seems to be
affected by it.

01:07.767 --> 01:09.436 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
DR. PETER HOTEZ: Yes, it's
called an alphavirus.

01:09.436 --> 01:15.008 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And we do see cases
periodically, including#
human cases and deaths. And it
tends ..

01:15.008 --> 01:20.480 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
disproportionately affect
horses. And that's#
where the equine part comes into
the name.##

01:20.480 --> 01:25.985 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
It circulates among birds. And
there's a#
specific mosquito for the birds.
And then,##

01:25.985 --> 01:30.723 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
once it gets hold in the birds,
different#
mosquitoes can bite and transmit
to humans.

01:30.723 --> 01:34.994 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
So we don't usually see a lot
of#
cases. I think my big concern
is,##

01:34.994 --> 01:39.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
we're starting to see not only
the eastern#
equine cases, but, as you
mentioned,##

01:39.833 --> 01:44.637 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
the West Nile virus cases. And
there's a bigger#
problem going on in the Western
Hemisphere,##

01:44.637 --> 01:50.643 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
where there's this big uptick in
dengue#
cases in Brazil, this other
virus Oropouche.

01:51.811 --> 01:57.717 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
We're seeing an expansion of
yellow fever,#
geography in Brazil to the
fringes of the##

01:57.717 --> 02:03.556 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
Amazon. So the big picture, I
think, is that#
we're seeing a general surge in
vector-borne##

02:03.556 --> 02:09.062 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
diseases across the hemisphere.
Brazil and#
parts of the Caribbean are
ground zero,##

02:09.062 --> 02:12.932 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
but it's starting to filter in,#
particularly in Texas and the
Gulf Coast.

02:12.932 --> 02:17.871 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And this is -- could be a new
normal for#
us during this time of climate
change,##

02:17.871 --> 02:20.273 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
together with urbanization and
other factors.

02:20.273 --> 02:24.911 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
GEOFF BENNETT: Well, in parts of
Massachusetts,#
health officials there are
telling people to##

02:24.911 --> 02:29.949 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
avoid outdoor activity between
dusk and#
dawn. They're conducting
pesticide sprays.

02:29.949 --> 02:34.821 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
How concerned should folks in
that region be#
and what more can they do to
protect themselves?

02:34.821 --> 02:38.758 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
DR. PETER HOTEZ: Well, the
problem is, there's#
not much room for error. This is
-- has a high##

02:38.758 --> 02:44.330 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
percentage of encephalitis and
fatalities,#
perhaps as high as 30 percent of
the cases.

02:44.330 --> 02:48.701 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
So this is definitely not one
you want to#
get. I think the most important
thing is,##

02:48.701 --> 02:53.239 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
if you do go outside, especially
early#
in the morning or in the
evening,##

02:53.239 --> 02:57.043 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
you want to be fully covered
with#
long pants or sweatpants and
socks##

02:57.043 --> 03:01.581 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
and sneakers and a hooded
sweatshirt#
if you're out in the morning and
a hat.

03:01.581 --> 03:05.685 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And then, on the exposed parts,
make#
certain you use a good insect
repellent,##

03:05.685 --> 03:09.389 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
preferably one with a high
percentage#
of DEET that you put on the
dorsal and##

03:09.389 --> 03:12.025 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
palm or surface of your hands#
and around your neck. I mean,##

03:12.025 --> 03:18.798 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
that's what I do. I like to get
my 10,000#
steps in and I do walks early in
the morning,##

03:18.798 --> 03:24.204 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
sometimes before sunrise and in
the evening, which#
is a maximal time when
mosquitoes are biting.

03:24.204 --> 03:28.641 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And, sometimes, my neighbors who
are out in#
shorts and T-shirts will look at
me like I'm##

03:28.641 --> 03:33.813 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
a bit nuts. And I use that as a
teachable moment.#
And I will explain to them,
look, you have to be##

03:33.813 --> 03:39.052 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
really careful because West Nile
is accelerating#
right now, as well as other
vector-borne diseases.##

03:39.052 --> 03:46.326 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And there's risk now for ones
transmitted by#
the Aedes aegypti mosquito,
including dengue.

03:46.326 --> 03:51.397 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And also we have ones that are
arising#
from Brazil. So this is the peak
time of##

03:51.397 --> 03:55.034 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
year for vector-borne disease,
and it's#
probably going to become our new
normal.

03:55.034 --> 03:57.403 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
GEOFF BENNETT: You mentioned
West#
Nile. Let's talk more about
it,##

03:57.403 --> 03:59.906 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
because we have seen nearly 300
cases across##

03:59.906 --> 04:04.877 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
the country. What should we know
about the#
spread and severity of the West
Nile virus?

04:04.877 --> 04:08.281 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
DR. PETER HOTEZ: Well, Texas is
getting#
hit very hard. So what we
usually see in##

04:08.281 --> 04:13.987 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
the United States is a big peak
in Texas#
and the adjoining states in the
southeast,##

04:13.987 --> 04:17.824 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
Mississippi and Louisiana, and
then#
going up into the Great Plains.

04:17.824 --> 04:23.930 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And there's North Dakota and
Nebraska.#
And then you also sometimes see
foci in##

04:23.930 --> 04:28.034 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
New York and New Jersey, where
the virus was#
first discovered. You have bad
years and good##

04:28.034 --> 04:32.071 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
years for reasons that we don't
entirely#
understand. 2012 was a terrible
year,##

04:32.071 --> 04:36.209 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
for instance. And this one's
looking like#
it could be a pretty bad year as
well.

04:36.209 --> 04:40.079 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80%
And I'm worried that it's going#
to become more and more like
this,##

04:40.079 --> 04:44.117 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
that every year is going to
become a#
bad West Nile year, just like we
could##

04:44.117 --> 04:51.824 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
see dengue coming into the U.S.
Gulf Coast and#
other diseases transmitted by
Aedes mosquitoes.

04:51.824 --> 04:56.562 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
So the West Nile is transmitted
by the Culex#
mosquitoes. That's why we do
insecticidal##

04:56.562 --> 05:02.869 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
spraying in the evening and the
morning. Aedes is#
a little more difficult to
control. It requires##

05:02.869 --> 05:06.873 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
going house to house. And we
tend not#
to do that much in the United
States.

05:06.873 --> 05:08.308 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
GEOFF BENNETT: Well, if this is
the new normal,##

05:08.308 --> 05:10.576 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
mosquito-borne illness made
worse by

05:10.576 --> 05:12.645 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
climate change, what more should
we

05:12.645 --> 05:16.015 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
be doing to protect ourselves?
What#
more could the federal
government do?

05:16.015 --> 05:17.050 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
DR. PETER HOTEZ: Yes, it's a
good question.

05:17.050 --> 05:22.121 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
I think we need to up our game
in terms of doin..

05:22.121 --> 05:26.626 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
our surveillance system in the
U.S. is#
extremely fragmented. So, for
instance,##

05:26.626 --> 05:32.332 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
if a patient comes into an
emergency#
room or a clinic and has what
kind of##

05:32.332 --> 05:36.302 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
looks like it could be an
arbovirus infection, a#
mosquito-transmitted virus
infection, they will##

05:36.302 --> 05:43.509 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
present with fever and rash and
headache#
and photophobia, being afraid of
the light.

05:43.509 --> 05:48.281 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And the physician kind of shrugs
his shoulders#
and say, hmm, maybe it's an
arbovirus infection,##

05:48.281 --> 05:51.050 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
maybe it's something else. And
by#
the time you get the test
back,##

05:51.050 --> 05:55.521 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
it stays later and sometimes
even longer than that#
because you have to send it to
specialty labs.

05:55.521 --> 06:00.526 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
So we don't have the
point-of-care diagnostics#
that we need. And what we really
need to do is##

06:00.526 --> 06:06.966 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
have a detailed map at a
county-by-county#
level of what's in our
particular county.

06:06.966 --> 06:10.403 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
And so one of the things that
we're doing here#
at Baylor College of Medicine
and our National##

06:10.403 --> 06:14.741 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
School of Tropical Medicine,
we're undertaking a#
pretty sophisticated
metagenomics project where##

06:14.741 --> 06:21.347 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
we're doing full sequencing of
mosquitoes,#
the full genome together with
their viruses,##

06:21.347 --> 06:26.786 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
and also pairing it with
wastewater testing, so#
we can get that very detailed
map of what's there,##

06:26.786 --> 06:32.191 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
so when a physician sees a
patient that they#
suspect could have one of these
infections,##

06:32.191 --> 06:35.194 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
they will already know what's in
the#
flora and fauna of our local
area.

06:35.194 --> 06:37.230 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And we don't do that currently.

06:37.230 --> 06:40.533 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80%
GEOFF BENNETT: Dr. Peter Hotez,
thanks, as#
always, for your insights. We
appreciate it.

06:40.533 --> 06:41.367 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
DR. PETER HOTEZ: Thank you.