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While the recent anthrax case does not appear to be related to bio-terrorism, it has offered a chance to test the public health system. WNYC’s Fred Mogul looks at how well it worked.

REPORTER: African dancer Vado Diomande collapsed during a performance at a Pennsylvania University, a week ago Thursday. And it was not until last Tuesday – five days later – that the Centers for Disease Control definitively confirmed he had contracted anthrax from animal hides he used to make drums. That seems like a long time, but is it? Dr. Vincent Fischetti of Rockefeller University.

FISCHETTI: It’s as quick as we can do it at this point in time. It takes a little while to identify organisms like this. In this particular case it took about 48 hours to identify that it was definitely anthracis bacteria. Unfortunately, the treatment window is about 48 hours. After that, it is very difficult to treat this individual so he will survive.

REPORTER: Doctors don’t wait for confirmed lab tests to begin treating illnesses. Often, they quickly prescribe anti-biotics to go after bacteria. The technology for testing for bacteria, viruses and other pathogens is improving, but still has a way to go.

FISCHETTI: What is really needed -- and a lot of people are certainly working on this -- is rapid identification of these organisms at the bedside or at the point of isolation. Once we have that, we could respond and treat a lot more rapidly.

REPORTER: Fischetti is one of several observers who credit the clinicians in rural Pennsylvania for even suspecting the illness might be anthrax. Dr. Stephen Morse, the director of Columbia University’s Center for Public Health Preparedness, says that in recent years, the “suspicion index” among doctors has increased.

MORSE: When we had those anthrax attacks in 2001, it took quite a while for someone to think of that diagnosis. And now, obviously, people are much more aware of it. I think that’s a good sign.

REPORTER: Local doctors alerted state and federal officials, who confirmed the test results and began looking for the cause of the illness and other infected people. Dr. Nathaniel Huppert of Weill Cornell Medical Center thinks the chain of action worked well. Sure, there was a lag before the authorities got involved, but that’s appropriate -- tests should be confirmed before involving public officials. And even though that lag time is shrinking, Huppert says:

HUPPERT: All bets are off between a case like this, where you have one individual who’s sick, and a situation like 2001, where you had multiple individuals in multiple states, or, heaven forbid, a situation where you have multiple individuals in a single location from an intentional release of an organism like anthrax.

REPORTER: Shortly after the CDC confirmed the anthrax last Tuesday, Mayor Bloomberg alerted the media. He said the case posed no threat to public health – a refrain he repeated for the rest of the week. On Friday, he held a second news conference about the progress in containment, identification and environmental cleanup efforts – and again reiterated that the isolated illness was not dangerous to the public. Arguably, spending that much time on reassurance the public could increase anxiety, rather than decrease it. But former health commissioner Dr. Neal Cohen thinks it worth erring on the side of repetition.

COHEN: I think the daily reporting of updated information is enabling the public to gain comfort that the earlier presentation of information is holding true.

REPORTER: Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly both say they have been satisfied with the city's response to the anthrax case, but that “you can always do better.” Both men, however, decline to say where exactly they would improve protocols and actions. Dr. Frieden says pinpointing those will have to wait for an “After Action Review” – and that will come later. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.