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CNN 10

Breaking the Chain of Ebola Transmission; Gaza During War; Building Boats for Inner City Children in New York

Aired August 26, 2014 - 04:00   ET

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: From NHK TV in Japan to the city of Chickasha, Oklahoma, we welcome our viewers from all over the world.

First up on commercial free CNN STUDENT NEWS we are taking you to Africa. The Ebola outbreak we`ve been following this year has mostly been limited

to West Africa. But new cases of the hemorrhagic fever are turning up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Central Africa. It appears to be a

different strain of the virus, meaning it`s a separate one from the outbreak that`s killed 1500 people in West Africa. But doctors are

scrambling to contain it, because Congo borders nine other countries, and an outbreak there could be catastrophic. There`s no cure. Ebola kills

many of those who get it. Though people can survive, if they are treated quickly with fluids, medicines and nutrients.

One big question, though, how do you stop it?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ebola outbreak in Africa has left hundreds dead and many more infected. To halt even more infections,

finding and treating all the patients is key. But just as important as finding and monitoring all the people who had close contact with those

patients. These people, they may have slept in the same house, they may have come in contact with the patients` body fluids. And not all of the

patients` close contacts are going to get sick. But those who do can then expose even more people to Ebola. It`s called a chain of transmission. I

want to give you a real world example from an Ebola outbreak in the early 2000s.

A young woman from Uganda didn`t know she was sick with Ebola. She had closed contacts with six people. Her baby and father in law, they both got

sick. The baby then got his grandmother sick and she had contact with two more people as well. The father in law had close contact with 12 people.

Out of that, his brother and cousin both got sick. The brother then had close contact with four more people, and the cousin had close contact with

five more people, including another brother who`d used his blanket and also got sick. That`s how Ebola can spread. From one generation of disease,

all the way around to another generation and then another.

Breaking this chain of transmission is crucial. And one way to do it is do something known as contact tracing. Basically, disease detectives use

every source they can find to find people who may have had contact with the person sick with Ebola. And then for 21 days they monitor each person

looking for signs and symptoms like a fever. And if it looks like someone who`s starting to get sick, they are asked to go to an isolation ward.

Now, in previous person outbreaks this contact tracing has been pretty effective at halting new transmissions. But the current outbreak is

unprecedented in size and scope. The World Health Organization says it`s so far more than 8500 of those close contacts have been identified. And

just imagine that. How daunting it would be to follow for 21 days more than 8500 people in the region of the world with fewer resources and then

remote locations. If you miss even one exposed individual and they get sick, the virus keeps spreading. And this outbreak won`t be over until

there`s been 42 days with no new cases.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Moving east of the African continent now to the region of the Middle East. Rockets and airstrikes have brought explosions to Israel and Gaza.

Hamas is the group that controls the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Israel and the U.S. label Hamas a terrorist organization. It recently admitted to

kidnapping and killing three Israeli teenagers in June. That set off the new flare up of an old conflict. A Palestinian teenager was killed in

early July. Rocket attacks from Gaza and airstrikes from Israel have been on and off ever since.

Thousands, mostly Palestinians have died, and parts of Gaza have become a war zone. A CNN producer describes what its` like to travel there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JON JENSEN, CNN PRODUCER: So, I was lucky enough to get the call to be a producer for Ben Wedeman, and I say lucky because if you`re going to go

into Gaza at the time of conflict, there`s no better reporter to be there with. He`s covered the story for more than two decades, he speaks fluent

Arabic, he knows the streets of Gaza like the back of his hands.

The minute I crossed into Gaza there were two explosions on either side of me, a few hundred meters away. Rocket fire or artillery incoming, and it`s

loud. It`s - it shakes the air around you, and I think if you are not scared, there`s probably something wrong with you.

Every time I go in, I`m always constantly surprised at just how small the place is, it`s, you know, from top to bottom 40 kilometers, around 25 miles

long, which means, you know, when you`re in Gaza City on the top of a building, in a couple directions you can see Israeli border.

You are all more aware of the close proximity in the time of conflict, when there`s artillery and bombs coming in and rockets going out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: From Monday`s transcript at cnnstudentnews.com, here are three of the schools that requested a mention on today`s "Roll Call." We`ll start

in Costa Rica, with the Lincoln School. It`s great being part of your day in Santo Domingo de Heredia. Next, we are jumping up to Parowan Utah.

We`ve got the rams roaming in Parowan High School. And over in Chillicothe, Illinois, we see a stampede of Mustangs. They are at

Chillicothe Junior High School.

The average school start time across the U.S. is 8 a.m., but the American Academy of Pediatrics says it needs to be later. Why? So you can get more

sleep. It says teenagers` health, safety and grades, all depend on sleep, and specifically, sleeping later. It says going to be earlier won`t solve

the problem because teenagers` brains are programmed to fall asleep later and stay asleep later.

So, it`s recommending that schools delay their start times to 8:30 or later.

A couple of problems with that, though. One involves bus schedules. Many buses start early to make several trips to different schools. Adding buses

and routs adds costs and many districts can`t afford that. Another reason - afterschool activities. If school started later, students in band or

sports might not get home until after dinner.

You know that expression, slow news day. Friday, April 18, 1930 was quite possibly the slowest news day ever. On that day, the BBC announced

"there`s no news. And then they played piano music. Now, that`s random.

Hunts Point is one of the toughest parts of the Bronx. That`s a borough in New York City. According to New York`s government, only about 42 percent

of students in Hunts Point graduate high school. They routinely walk through streets ridden with crime, drugs and danger. But a CNN hero is

turning Hunts Point into a jumping off point for some students` success.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bronx River is really one of the most hidden gems of New York City. If you look in one direction, you`ll see very industrial

sites. If you look at another direction, you`ll see tons of birds and fish and all kinds of native plant life.

I grew up in New York City, which is an island surrounded by water, but I wasn`t the boater at all.

I ended up volunteering in Ageera (ph) High School in East Harlem when we`ve built a little eight foot dingy (ph). I benefited just as much as

any other students did from the sense of oh, wow, I can put my energy into something and actually see a result.

(on camera): Make your own .

(voice over): That experience inspired me to create this organization Rocking the Boat.

(on camera): You want a good check for that? Just drop this on.

(voice over): Our kids come from the south Bronx, one of the poorest places in the country. Their block is all they`ve ever known.

The kids learn how to build boats, they are sailing and rowing. They are restoring a river.

(on camera): Here you go.

(voice over): We`ve opened kids up to new possibility as really to become someone they would never be - otherwise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: the program has taught me that I can take on any challenge and apply so many of the skills that I learned here. Now, I`m

going to a good college. I wouldn`t have got there if not for Rocking the Boat.

(on camera): And what do you guys see in high tide?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s pretty awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): They can really go anywhere and do anything.

They`ve already got what it takes (INAUDIBLE) and put it to work.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Rock the Boat!

(CHEERING)

Before we go,

AZUZ: Before we go, well, this is just a prettiest little implosion you`ve ever seen. The city of Albany, New York, decided it was time for this

hotel to go. But demolition crews sent it off in style. First came fireworks, than explosions and red-white blue smoke. The structure had

been there since the 1920. Then it`s been abandoned (INAUDIBLE), so to make way for a new convention center, there was a cascade of color

culminating in a calculated collapse. Maybe not the most constructive way to end a show, makes our finish a little flat. It seems like we`re just

dropping off, but it gives us something to build on. Grounds us on from footing and provides a solid foundation on which we can stack more stories

and punch tomorrow. See you all then.

END