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CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL

Anthrax: Mexico's New Drug Boom Is Cipro

Aired October 18, 2001 - 05:40   ET

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


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Some folks are so worried about contracting or even being exposed to anthrax that they're asking their doctors for antibiotics.

But as Hena Cuevas reports, some people are bypassing the middle man and going across the border.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENA CUEVAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Along the border in Tijuana, Mexico, pharmacies are hearing the same question.

YVETTE ADAMS: If she was to come down with anthrax, how long would she -- how many of these would she have to take?

CUEVAS: People coming to Mexico wanting to buy Ciprofloxacin, or Cipro, one of the antibiotics used to treat anthrax, like Yvette Adams of San Diego.

ADAMS: Actually, I was thinking I should come and get it and start giving it -- taking it myself and giving it to my kids, so we can be protected.

CUEVAS: Sales of Cipro in Mexico have doubled since September 11, according to the Tijuana Pharmacy Association. For starters, it's a lot cheaper. On this U.S. Internet site, a bottle of 14 pills, which would get you through seven days of a 60-day treatment, costs $84. The same bottle in this Mexican pharmacy sells for less than $50, and now you can take an additional 40 percent off.

(on camera): Buying Cipro in Mexico is relatively easy. It's sold over-the-counter without a doctor's prescription, but the problem is getting it into the U.S. legally. To do so, you need to declare it, and you need to show a prescription from a U.S. doctor.

(voice-over): Of course, many just hide it. Pharmacists in Mexico say this is the first time they've seen this kind of panic buying.

RAUL CORTEZ, PHARMACY OWNER (through translator): We aren't trying to take advantage of the situation to sell the product. Our goal is to continue educating the public. I think it's the best way to handle the situation.

CUEVAS: Yvette Adams and her friends decide not to buy the Cipro after hearing the warning from the pharmacist.

GEORGE JARESKO, CLINICAL PHARMICIST: If you had some suspicions...

ADAMS: Right.

JARESKO: ... of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). If you don't, you don't have to take it.

CUEVAS: They go home empty-handed, but say Cipro is still on their minds.

JOANN GAINES: Until this scare is completely over with, or until the war is over and there is no more threats about biochemical weapons, then it will always be there -- always.

CUEVAS: Hena Cuevas, CNN, Tijuana, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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