Skip to main content
CNN.com
Search
Home World U.S. Weather Business Sports Analysis Politics Law Tech Science Health Entertainment Offbeat Travel Education Specials Autos I-Reports
EDUCATION with Student News

Quick Guide & Transcript: U.S. quarantines traveler with TB, Listener saves radio DJ's life

Adjust font size:
Decrease fontDecrease font
Enlarge fontEnlarge font

(CNN Student News) -- May 31, 2007

Quick Guide

TB Worries - Discover how a groom's flight to a wedding triggered a transatlantic health scare.

Blue Moon - Learn about a heavenly phenomenon that only takes place once in a blue moon.

Saved on the Air - Hear about a radio DJ who used the airwaves to call for help during his show.

Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: It's a new day and we've got a new edition of CNN Student News. Glad to have you with us. I'm Carl Azuz. A sickness scare: A groom flies across the Atlantic for his wedding and raises concerns that he might have infected his fellow passengers with a deadly illness. An orbiting oddity: They don't come around too often, but tonight's the night to take a walk in the light of a blue moon. And a life-saving listener: An audience member comes racing to the rescue when a radio DJ calls for help over the airwaves.

First Up: TB Worries

AZUZ: First up today, one man's travels between North America and Europe trigger a transatlantic health scare. You can try to avoid as many germs as possible, but sooner or later we all get sick. And when you're feeling under the weather, no one else wants to catch what you've got. But Elizabeth Cohen explains why passengers on two recent flights might have unexpectedly fallen victim to a disease that's a lot worse than the flu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH COHEN, HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: It's called XDR-TB: extensively drug resistant tuberculosis. A horrible disease.

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Many of the people who have XDR-TB don't survive their infection.

COHEN: And now health authorities have learned that a man with this disease was on two transatlantic flights. He traveled on Air France Flight 385 from Atlanta to Paris on May 12th. He flew again on May 24th on Czech Air #0104 from Prague to Montreal. Then he drove by car into the U.S. the same day. The CDC is urging passengers on these flights to get tested for TB.

GERBERDING: We have no suspicion that this patient was highly infectious. In fact, the medical evidence would suggest his potential for transmission would be on the low side. But we know it isn't zero.

COHEN: That's why the CDC took the highly unusual step of ordering him isolated at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

COHEN: So who is this man public health authorities are so worried about? He's a resident of the state of Georgia. And he knew, and so did health authorities, that he had TB when he got on the plane from Atlanta to Paris. But they didn't know he had the drug resistant kind of TB. They only learned that once he was in Europe. U.S. health authorities told him not to fly home, but he did anyway.

COHEN: And that leaves health authorities searching for the other people on those airplanes who might have been exposed. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Fact Check: Tuberculosis

JOHN LISK, CNN ANCHOR: Tuberculosis has been plaguing mankind for more than 4000 years. Scientists have found signs of the disease in the remains of Egyptian mummies from 2400 B.C. It has been know by many names. Among them, consumption and wasting disease, as the illness seemed to consume its victims.

LISK: According to the World Health Organization, someone new is infected with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis every second of the day. In 2005, that meant an estimated 8.8 million new cases. But not everyone infected develops the disease. It can lie dormant for decades.

LISK: Right now about one-third of the world's population is currently infected with the tuberculosis bacteria. According to the latest global figures, 1.6 million people died from the disease in 2005. That's 3 people every minute.

LISK: The largest number of new TB cases are occurring in Southeast Asia. But sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with highest incident rate of infection. It's estimated that TB has killed more than a billion people over the last two centuries.

LISK: Since the 1940s, several drug treatments have proved effective against TB. Worldwide, the number of TB cases has been leveling off since 1993. That's when the World Health Organization declared TB a public health emergency. But several global hot spots remain.

Wayward Whales

AZUZ: A pair of lost travelers have been getting a lot of help in California the past several weeks, and it looks like they might finally be back on track. Two humpback whales have been working their way back to the Pacific Ocean after making a wrong turn and ending up 90 miles off course in the Sacramento River. The mother and her calf were last spotted near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Scientists lost track of the pair, nicknamed Delta and Dawn, Tuesday night, and an official with California's Fish and Game Department says that if the wandering whales aren't seen again soon, it's safe to assume they did make their way back to the Pacific.

Shoutout

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! What is the second full moon in a single calendar month called? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Waxing moon, B) Waning moon, C) New moon or D) Blue moon? You've got three seconds -- GO! The blue moon is what you call the second full moon in a calendar month. And you don't see them every year! That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Blue Moon

AZUZ: It doesn't come around too often, but if you do want to get a glimpse at a blue moon, you're in luck. Just turn your eyes to the skies tonight and you can check one out. That's right. It's the 2nd full moon of the month. So it seems like a good time to bask in the glow of this rare celestial phenomenon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: There's a saying about it...

MANDY SLATER, PROPRIETOR, BLUE MOON PIZZA: Once in a blue moon.

AZUZ: A song about it, and even a little mystery about it. What is a blue moon?

PERSON ON THE STREET: I can't say that I know that.

PERSON ON THE STREET: I have no idea what a blue moon is.

AZUZ: Perhaps that's because it's less influential than a Ban Ki-Moon. Or less athletic than a Warren Moon. Or less known than an old-fashioned full moon, which some folks say brings out the best:

PERSON ON THE STREET: People are nuts. Babies are born.

PERSON ON THE STREET: I think the fishing gets a lot better.

AZUZ: Okay. But what we're fishing for is what it means when everyone's favorite satellite is said to be the color of the sky it's in.

PERSON ON THE STREET: I really don't know.

PERSON ON THE STREET: It's something Southern.

AZUZ: Hey now, we don't only have blue moons in the South, ma'am!

SLATER: A blue moon is two full moons that fall in the same calendar month.

AZUZ: Well, close enough. It's actually the second full moon in a single month that's the blue one. And Mandy Slater had better know that. She owns this restaurant.

SLATER: We definitely want our customers to come more than once every blue moon.

AZUZ: And that's because on average, blue moons occur less than once a year. Now, the big question: Is it really blue? Come on! Is it really made of cheese? But there have been times in the past where any moon -- full, half or crescent -- has taken on a blue hue. Volcanic ash, for example, can scatter red light. And that means the moon can look blue or even green! But there's nothing romantic about a satellite that seems sickly, and some see the scarlet shade of a lunar eclipse downright disturbing. So it seems full moon number two will remain a true blue, even if it looks like any other moon to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Saved on the Air

AZUZ: You probably turn on the radio expecting music, right? But chances are you're just as likely to hear DJs rambling about news, sports, the weather or whatever's on their mind. It might seem like the airwaves are more talk than tunes. But Lisa Reyes of Carolina News 14 tells us why what one DJ muttered into his mic may have saved his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM BIGGERSTAFF, RADIO DJ: I appreciate you all very much. Welcome to the family.

LISA REYES, REPORTER, CAROLINA NEWS 14: Tim Biggerstaff has been on the air for 30 years. He has thousands of faithful listeners that stretch from Cleveland County to Lincoln County. And during his Monday morning radio show, Biggerstaff says he felt sick.

BIGGERSTAFF: I knew something was going to happen and I lost focus.

REYES: Biggerstaff has struggled with his health for years, something he was candid about on the radio. And this time he felt a seizure about to strike. Unable to use the phone, he turned to his audience for help.

BIGGERSTAFF: The next best vehicle I had at my disposal obviously was the microphone. I just took the microphone and said, "Hey guys, I'm a little sick. I need some help out here."

REYES: Longtime listener Gerald Weathers was close by, grabbing breakfast.

GERALD WEATHERS, LONGTIME LISTENER: I noticed there was a lot of static on the radio.

REYES: He turned up the volume and heard Biggerstaff's plea.

WEATHERS: I vaguely heard Tim say somebody might oughta check on me.

REYES: Weathers raced to the WOHS studios and called 911.

WEATHERS: I'm out here at WOHS radio station. I had the radio on and I heard this boy broadcasting and it sounded like he might've gotten sick on air.

REYES: An employee was called in to unlock the door and Biggerstaff was found unconscious. At the hospital he learned he suffered a seizure and was dehydrated.

BIGGERSTAFF: It's quite frankly just a bloody miracle that I am here at all.

REYES: A grateful Biggerstaff returned to work Wednesday.

BIGGERSTAFF: My great listeners came to my rescue.

REYES: And for that, he says thank you. In Shelby, North Carolina, Lisa Reyes for CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: Before you take off for summer, we want to know your picks for the top news stories of this school year. Teachers, e-mail your students' choices to us at CNN.com/EDUCATION, and tune in next week to see if your selections make the cut.

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, a race where all the competitors are on the juice. Sure they're cute. But speed is the name of the game for these adorable athletes. In Lithuania's annual baby race, the pace of the grueling contest just crawls along. But it only took 9 seconds for the triumphant tiny tyke to traverse the 4-meter field and run, or crawl, home to his mama. A resounding victory? Merely child's play.

Goodbye

AZUZ: And that's where we crawl to a close. We'll see you tomorrow for more CNN Student News, and don't forget to e-mail your picks for the year's top stories. Thanks for watching, everybody. I'm Carl Azuz.


Advertisement

Advertisement

Career Builder.com
Quick Job Search
  More Options
International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Advertise with Us About Us Contact Us
Search
© 2007 Cable News Network.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map.
SERVICES » E-mails RSSRSS Feed PodcastsRadio News Icon CNNtoGo CNN Pipeline
Offsite Icon External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pipeline Icon Pay service with live and archived video. Learn more