Investigators Test Doctors' Knowledge Of Anthrax

HOUSTON -- Anthrax is a word we never thought would become common in everyday conversation. But this disease is now a concern in everyone's life.

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The possibly deadly infection begs the question -- how prepared are our front line doctors, general practitioners and clinicians?

News2Houston's Investigator Robert Arnold and a photographer learned in a special report that some members of Houston's medical community are not as prepared as we need them to be.

Dr. Ralph Feigin/Baylor College of Medicine: "The truth is there was no need to think about it until now."

Doctor: "Let me see if we have what we need to test for that."

Byron Nichols/News2Houston: "They basically freaked out, they didn't know what to do."

After coming back from an assignment in Washington, management at Channel 2 asked News2Houston photographer Byron Nichols and Arnold get tested for anthrax as a simple precaution.

Byron Nichols/News2Houston: "You can tell he was nervous and pretty much didn't know what to do."

Nichols was the first to go for a test at a clinic in southwest Houston. He said that he found a medical staff who hit the panic button.

Byron Nichols/News2Houston: "The next thing you know I hear a police scanner, the police were called."

But that wasn't the end of the ordeal.

Byron Nichols/News2Houston: "The fire department showed up with a pumper truck and all these firemen, so I was really freaking out."

So, after all the emergency workers raced to the clinic, and Nichols answered a barrage of questions, there was still the issue of the actual test for anthrax.

Byron Nichols/News2Houston: "Walked out of there without getting tested."

Nichols said that after all the drama, the clinic admitted that they didn't know how to do an anthrax test.

Byron Nichols/News2Houston: "I was really disappointed and really kind of ticked off that they couldn't help me."

Arnold and Nichols then went to other area clinics to see if what happened to Nichols was an isolated problem or if there was a general lack of education on the subject of anthrax.

They took along a hidden camera and tried a clinic near the Galleria area and one in northwest Houston. They found the results were less than comforting.

Robert Arnold/News2Houston:I'm with Channel 2 and I need to get screened for Anthrax."

At first the nurse wasn't sure what to do and turned to a co-worker.

Nurse: "Do we do that here?"

The answer …

Nurse: "We don't do that here, I'm sorry."

With nothing more than an apology, Arnold and Nichols left the clinic for the second one. There they asked to get screened for anthrax and again found uncertainty among the staff.

Doctor: "You want to take a seat for me, I'll make some phone calls."

Nichols and Arnold waited nearly 30 minutes before being taken into an examination room. They were told the doctor would perform a nasal swab.

Doctor: "I'm going to be very honest with you, this is the first one I've done."

After the first swab, the doctor realized that he made a mistake and had to do the procedure again.

Doctor: "I'm telling you we don't do these at all because we haven't been exposed to them, I really do apologize."

What they didn't realize at the time was the doctor made another mistake by only giving them a nasal swab.

Kathy Barton/Houston Health Department: "What we really would have needed is a blood culture."

Barton said that after time passes, anthrax spores become imbedded in a person's lungs but are expelled from the nasal cavity. Therefore, a nasal swab might not catch the disease. A blood test is the only way to be certain, according to Barton.

Kathy Barton/Houston Health Department: "There are many educational barriers and obstacles that we need to overcome with our clinical practices."

There is a major push to educate doctors in the Houston community. One of those leading the charge is Feigin, the medical liaison to Houston's Terrorism Task Force. Feigin believes that a lack of education about anthrax is not the only problem. He said another problem is doctors who approach their patients with an outdated way of thinking.

Dr. Ralph Feigin/Baylor College of Medicine: "You might have the most knowledgeable physician in the world and what they really need to be is simply attuned to include the possibility."

In conclusion, when Arnold talked with health officials, they said that education is crucial because flu season is right around the corner, and anthrax symptoms can mimic the flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that all Americans should get a flu shot this year.