lemon, keep it right here for dr. sanjay gupta. hey there, and thank you for joining us, i'm back home after spending most of this past week chasing down answers in that meningitis outbreak. over there, that is the necc, compounding facility, and back here, the recycling facility, essentially that looks like a dump. you'll see what else i uncovered ahead, pretty remarkable stuff.

also ahead, sugar, we talk about it all the time. well, now it is the subject of a test regarding a cartoon, with pretty graphic stuff. and hormone replacement therapy. i'll tell you this issue confuses women more than about just any other. i have a new announcement on the study. but we begin with the meningitis outbreak, under the microscope. the plot thickens on the deadly and growing meningitis outbreak that is affecting now so much of the country. at the center of it all, contaminated steroid injections of 14,000 people in 23 states may have received. now, they were made by necc, a compounding pharmacy in massachusetts that is licensed to distribute drugs in all 50 states. compound pharmacies were established so that the pharmacists could make custom specific doses for patients with those needs. now the fda is not charged with regulating them, because the compound facilities are not

making new drugs, just charged with mixing them. but i'll tell you over the last few years, compounding pharmacies have grown over the past few years, accounts for many of the drugs taken by patients over the last few years. it is big business, has little oversight and it impacts all of us. you work here? >> i'm security for the facility. >> reporter: okay. all week we have been trying to dig up anything to try to understand how a common steroid injection could have become so deadly. >> unfortunately, i have to ask you guys to leave the property. >> reporter: no one here really wants to talk. >> your call has been forwarded. the number you dialled is not in service. the call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. >> reporter: all right. hello, i'm trying to get ahold of barry cadden, that one? wrong number. is there somebody we can actually talk to? i even went straight to the home of barry cadden, the owner of

the facility. there was a car parked at the end of the driveway, no visitors allowed. i was told they would call me back, they didn't. we were tipped off about a recycling facility that shares a space with the compounding facility. it is literally in the back yard. it amounted to a garbage dump. we even saw this vehicle bringing waste from a nursing home to be disposed of here. and while there are no laws specifically prohibiting a compounding pharmacy being next to, well, this, the fda tells us it is all part of the investigation. but there was something else we noticed. look closely at the name of this garbage facility connected to the necc. conigliaro, well, it turns out this is the maiden name of barry cadden's wife, lisa, who is listed as a pharmacist at the necc. we dug deeper, and found out she and her brother are the owners of necc, the recycling facility,

and also this medical facility, called the ameridose, now if necc is big, then ameridose is the 200 pound guerilla, ameridose, generated 100 million a year. they do drug manufacturing which is regulated by the fda. but they also do add-mixing, a form of compounding regulated by the state faboard. this lady was appointed to the state pharmacy board back in 2008. we asked them about that, they say she has recused herself from the matter. 8,000 drug orders were placed with them by drug agencies since

2007. together, both these companies produce hundreds of thousands of medication doses. now, both have shut down their operations. and the massachusetts department of health didn't say there was any direct evidence of contamination when it comes to products for ameridose, but one thing they expose was the incredible lack of oversight for the compound pharmacies, which can put the public at incredible risk, as we've seen here. we're going to continue to try to push the fda and pharmacies to try to get you some answers. and as you know, there is barely three weeks left to the presidential election, i'll be watching, as well as you, about what mitt romney says about his health care plan. he says he wants to repeal obama care, but also has popular ideas such as this. >> and as regard to health care, you had remarkable details with regard to my plan, you obviously studied up on it.

in fact, i do have a plan that deals with people with pre-existing conditions. >> now listening to that, it sounds like he wants to guarantee everybody a right to purchase coverage, but that is not exactly it. this is how it is explained on "the tonight show". >> people with pre-existing conditions, as long as they were insured before. >> well, if they're 45 years old and say i want insurance because i have heart disease, hey guys, you can't play the game like that, get insurance when you're well, and if you get ill, then you're covered. >> well, unfortunately, governor, this is not true i see these patients all the time. they couldn't afford insurance when they're well, and can't afford it when they're sick, and 26,000 people die every year prematurely every year, when they don't need to. yes, what they're saying is right. what the governor says is pretty much the same protections that we have now. the problem is, many people

still can't get health insurance under any plan. take a look, if you lose your job, you can still get health insurance under cobra, that costs more than 1100 a month, the department estimates if you carry this out, about 72 million americans would be left uninsured if you carry out the romney proposals. now, we wanted to talk to them about this, invited them to come on the show and specifically address how they would tackle this challenge, please explain how it would all work. because as far as we can tell, tens of thousands of people's lives would depend on it. for this week, though, they said sorry, we can't make it. we'll keep trying. and coming up, many living in the united states with hiv, one in five don't know they have it. but would you test your partner, if you could? even do it perhaps secretly. well, there is a new test that may allow for just that. and your mood is on its way down.

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because of -- the hiv virus that i have obtained, i will have to retire from the lakers today. >> who doesn't remember that day, 21 years ago, hard to believe, next month, when nba legend magic johnson shocked the entire world with that announcement. magic is alive and well today, and reiterating a point that he has made time and deal agatime that only a man could afford in his professions, he signed on for the technologies, a manufacturer of ora quick, which is the very first at home rapid

hiv test. in fact, he appeared to talk about this. >> look, doctors are already using this, so this is nothing like new. and the great thing about it, they have been using it for many, many years. and so now, it is just available to the public. and so it is great, because when you think about the fear factor, and you think about easterly detection can save your life, that is why i'm here 21 years, i found out early, jumped on it, took my meds, make sure, i still work out and make sure, i was comfortable with my new status. >> i'll tell you, in all of this, magic talked about people who engage in high risk behavior to get tested. but who exactly are the people who should get tested? will it make a difference overall, and how exactly will it make a difference. our expert, joining us, thank you for joining us. i know you have written a little bit about this. and you spent your entire career

for really pushing for entire hiv screening. is this really a big game-changer in your mind? >> thank you very much for having me. it is a pleasure to be here. since 2006, the cdc have recommended routine hiv screening and that people in the united states, all adults in the united states know their hiv status. so in my mind, any mechanicism by which we can have people get tested, motivate themselves to buy the testing, it is a good idea. >> and i think, should it really be everybody? what is it going to do for them? but let me just show you quickly what is available on line now in more than 30,000 stores. cost about $30, you basically use a swab to your upper and lower gums, place it into a solution, and 20 minutes later you get a response like a pregnancy test, one shows up later, one for negative, one for

positive. sounds pretty simple. but doctor, when people get tested it can obviously be a very monumental moment. and having support systems around to possibly deal with this new diagnosis, what about that if you're doing this at home? >> right, so that is an excellent question, i will tell you that ora sure has provided a contact line for support services for anybody who may have taken the test by themselves. i think many of the people who are going to purchase the test are people who want to take control and responsibility for their sexual health. and i think there are many services available to patients when they conduct the test, either through the ora sure 24-7, through the department of public health or through their own health care provider. >> there was another headline out of all of this, which i'm sure you read. and the company says this was unintended, to be clear.

the screening could involve the testing of the partners, maybe without them even knowing it. and even others in the clinical trial say they would very likely or definitely use it to screen sexual partners. what do you think about that? is it wrong, unethical. >> i think nobody should be tested without them even knowing -- >> even the sexual partner? >> even for a sexual partner. i think it would be great if sexual partners, new ones wanted to conduct the test together and be there for each other, as they both receive the results together and develop the test together. i can't conceive that one might swab somebody's gum with this, and not know that it is actually happening. but indeed, it should not be conducted without a person's knowledge, for sure. >> who should be getting this test? and i know you sort of talked about this.

but you know, a lot of people watching right now, maybe married couples who have been married for some time. is this something that everybody should go out and do, do you think? >> yeah, this is a great question, i think everybody should know their hiv status, if they want to go purchase a test to find out the status or get an hiv status test with their doctor, everybody should know their hiv status. one thing i want to be clear about, who should not use this test. people can be falsely reassured. the people who should not use this test are the ones that had an encounter the night before, to be sure, it doesn't detect the virus itself, so the test, if conducted today, tells us about somebody's hiv status as of about four to six weeks ago.

>> great explanation, important topic, a lot of people paying attention, about $40 for this test, the first of its kind to come about. thank you for joining us. >> thank you very much. and still ahead, you remember these ads? they were for the truth campaign, and they were about smoking. well, now, the same guy who made those ads had his sights set on sugar. new prilosec otc wildberry

is the same frequent heartburn treatment as prilosec otc. now with a fancy coating that gives you a burst of wildberry flavor. now why make a flavored heartburn pill? because this is america. and we don't just make things you want, we make things you didn't even know you wanted. like a spoon fork. spray cheese. and jeans made out of sweatpants. so grab yourself some new prilosec otc wildberry. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. satisfaction guaranteed

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you happy ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ like the sun you shine, you brighten up a gray day ♪ ♪ ♪ sugar, sugar, so good, so good. sugar. >> that was the beginning of a clip from a new animated short film about the dangers of soda. now the polar bears may look familiar, a crudely drawn picture, but papa bear gets health troubles, they feature a song by jason moraz, michael jacobson is the producer. that is the group that produces the film. he joins me now from washington, good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> an important topic, as you know, we do a lot of reporting on this. and let me get right to it.

we certainly know that sugar-sweetened beverages contribute to obesity, and we also seem to have known that for a long time. why make this movie now? michael, they say the sugar consumption may be going down slowly in this country. >> yeah, sugar and soda consumption has been going down slowly. but the studies show that soft drinking are the one food or beverage that has been demonstrated to cause weight gain and obesity. and if we're going to deal with this obese epidemic, that is the place to start. so you know, on the one hand we just see -- forget pepsi and the other companyies, just coca-col spends $2 billion a year on advertising for sugary drinks. we thought it should level the playing field by giving people

some real information that soda may cause temporary happiness in the short term, but in the long term, all too often, soft drinking contribute to obesity, which is a cause of diabetes, and other illnesses. >> and i want to talk about the specifics regarding sugar. you did pick on coke, specifically in this campaign with the polar bears, we did reach out to coca-cola for response. you may have seen this sort of response from them, michael, as well. they said "this is irresponsible, the usually grand standing, not going to help anybody understand the bounds, which is key from the group that studies this issue." enough said, enough said, part of the quote, as well. they suggested that we reach out to the american beverage association. they were unable to provide anyone to come on and talk about this or even provide a statement. they don't want to seemingly talk about this. but what they seem to be saying,

is this villifying sugar specifically, and can sugar be a part of a healthy diet, even in the form of a drink? >> well, occasionally, sure, we don't want to knock out soft drinks, but we want to see them turn to the role they played in the '50s, which was occasionally, and a small treat. now, people are guzzling huge amounts every day. >> and is there a right amount? people say what does it mean? is there a safe amount? >> well, think about a 12-ounce can of coke that contains about 12 spoons of sugar. the american heart association recommends that women limit themselves to six spoons of sugar a day, and men to nine a day. so one coke, and you have shot your wad for sugar. and you're getting sugar from you know, cookies and cakes and ice cream and countless other

foods. but you know, having one or two sodas a week would be reasonable. having a 32-ounce giant coke at a fast food restaurant every day is a prescription for disease. >> and you can't do that in new york anymore, something else we have talked about on the show. you know, we talk about this all the time, michael, hope to have you back. we invited the representatives to come on the show, as well, from the beverage industry, but they declined to be on the show. thank you so much. thank you. and ahead, this is for the women out there. you really want to hear this. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. for wherever life takes you. and now qualified buyers can get 0% apr financing for 48 months on a 2012 cruze. ♪

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and we're chasing life this week, this one is for the ladies, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding hormone replacement therapy to help women deal with menopause, previously studies found it led to heart risks and problems. but there could be timing as a factor. women who started the hrt as many as seven months after menopause, didn't carry as much risk as the women who took it later. the women who took the hormones earlier could actually reduce their chances later of developing heart problems. as we point out, it is the first study to show this. and i