County prepared for anthrax cases

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT-MESA -- Area hospitals and health agencies say they are

prepared and well-stocked with antibiotics in the event of an anthrax

attack here.

Amid anthrax cases on the East Coast and in Nevada, threats or false

cases have been reported over the last few days in the Newport-Mesa area,

including at John Wayne Airport on Tuesday.

Local hospital officials say people should act calmly and proceed in a

logical manner if they suspect they have been infected with anthrax.

“The last thing people should be doing is to panic and come running

into our emergency room,” said Steve Moreau, senior vice president at

Hoag Hospital.

He said the hospital has several thousand doses of antibiotics that

are used to treat anthrax. Cipro is the most common medicine available to

treat the lethal bacteria, but Moreau said Hoag also stocks several doses

of an effective antibiotic called Doxycycline.

The first step people should take if they believe they have anthrax in

their system is to approach the Orange County Health Care Agency, Moreau

said.

“Antibiotics will not be given to people as a way of prevention,” he

explained. “It should not be given because the medicine tends to lose

effectiveness in case of future infection if administered when there is

no infection.”

Local public safety agencies have also been investigating quite a few

anthrax threats over the last few days. County hazardous materials

investigators say they respond to at least a half a dozen calls every

day.

Costa Mesa police, over the last week, have been received at least 15

to 20 calls a day reporting “suspicious powder,” said Costa Mesa Police

Sgt. Dale Birney. None of those were real incidents.

“We’ve had people coming over to our front desk and asking us to open

their mail,” he said.

Birney said his department has established a protocol to handle such

calls.

“When somebody calls us, we’re going to listen to the resident’s story

and then refer it to the FBI,” he said. “If the FBI assesses it to be a

threatening situation, then we’ll call hazmat.”

Birney said people could take some preliminary steps themselves.

“We had a report recently of someone finding powder in his garage,” he

said. “Turned out he had recently installed drywall there a few days ago.

Those are things people can figure out by themselves.”

But Birney cautioned that if something genuinely seems suspicious,

people should not touch it or smell it.

“They should isolate that substance or anyone who has been in contact

with that substance until it can be examined,” he said.

Newport Beach’s emergency services have received fewer calls, Fire

Capt. John Blauer said.

On Wednesday, “we were called to Newport Center Drive to investigate

powder on the sidewalk,” he said. “But none of the threats so far have

been real.”

County hazmat officials say there have been no confirmed anthrax cases

yet on the West Coast.

There are some widespread misconceptions relating to anthrax, said Pat

Markley, spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Care Agency.

“People need to remember anthrax is not contagious,” she said. “It

does not spread from one person to another.”

Anthrax vaccines are not available to the general public, but the

Health Care Agency “is prepared to react to an emergency situation if and

when it occurs,” Markley said.

“We have a plan in place for emergencies which may or may not involve

our clinics,” she said. The Health Care Agency does have a clinic on Mesa

Verde Drive East, but mobile units may be used to service the public

during emergencies, Markley said.

She said people should also use common sense and good judgment.

“We should remember that this is also the flu season,” Markley said.

“Talk to your physician. Chances are you’re dealing with the flu, not

anthrax.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .

FYI

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Here are some tips from the Orange County Health Care Agency:

* Anthrax does not spread from person to person.

* There is no reason for the general public to stockpile antibiotics.

Antibiotics should be taken only under medical supervision.

* Smallpox vaccines will be sent to affected areas in case of an

outbreak.

* No one type of gas mask protects against all germs or chemicals. In

addition, gas masks can cause serious injury or death if used improperly.

For more information on anthrax, call the Orange County Health Care

Agency’s automated information line at (714) 834-7766. For other

information, call (714) 834-8180. The after hours number there is (714)

628-7008.