U.S. seeks fliers possibly exposed to rare TB

[Suzie]

U.S. seeks fliers possibly exposed to rare TB (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTTkjFhFxGk6IA.SfQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHZkMjZ yBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNzcg--/SIG=13dj409id/EXP=1180554821/**http%3a//www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/05/29/tb.flight/index.html%3fsection=cnn_latest)
CNN.com - 41 minutes agoFederal health authorities are looking for people who may have been exposed aboard a plane to someone infected with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis known as XDR-TB.

[Rhino]

The infected patient traveled to Europe via Air France Flight 385, departing Atlanta on May 12 and arriving in Paris on May 13, the CDC said.

The patient returned to North America last Thursday aboard Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague, Czech Republic, to Montreal, Canada, then drove into the United States.France! I mighta known! LOL!

[Rhino]

The man was aware that he had tuberculosis at the time of the flight, but was not aware that it was the drug-resistant strain, Gerberding said.

"The patient felt his personal agenda was highly relevant to him," she said. "The CDC was not aware he was traveling. We were surprised the patient left the country."http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,276180,00.html

What the hell was he doing on an airplane? Even if he wasn't aware of the strain, he still knew he was contagious!

And for that matter, what was he doing out in public at all?

[Suzie]

Well the Feds have him now. Some people give no thought to the idea that the rest of us need to breathe too. Or most likely they just don't care.

Yahoo! Alerts
Breaking News Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 12:09 PM PDT


ATLANTA (AP) The CDC says a Georgia man with a rare and exceptionally dangerous form of tuberculosis has been placed in quarantine by the U.S. government.


Breaking News Alerts may be sent before a story is available on Yahoo! News. A story should be published shortly. Search for related news on Yahoo! News Search.

[Rhino]

Man Boarded Airplane for Wedding, Honeymoon Despite TB Diagnosis

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

ATLANTA — A man with a form of tuberculosis so dangerous he is under the first U.S. government-ordered quarantine since 1963 told a newspaper he took one trans-Atlantic flight for his wedding and honeymoon and another because he feared for his life.

Health officials have questioned his decision to fly from Atlanta to Paris, and later from Prague to Montreal, citing the possibility that he could expose other passengers. The man told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that while doctors told him they preferred that he put off his long-planned wedding in Greece, they didn't order him not to fly.

He knew that he had tuberculosis, but didn't think he was a danger, he said.

"We headed off to Greece thinking everything's fine," said the man, who declined to be identified in the newspaper because of the stigma attached to his diagnosis.

Dr. Steven Katkowsky, director of the Fulton County Department of Health & Wellness, said the man was told traveling was not advised.

The man flew from Atlanta to Paris on May 12 aboard Air France Flight 385. He returned to North America on May 24 aboard Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague to Montreal, then drove into the United States at the Champlain, N.Y., border crossing.....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,276336,00.html

[Lubbock]

This is beyond comprehension. Is there an estimate yet of just how many people he may have exposed to this deadly, incurable form of TB?

Not just the people who were sitting nearby on the plane. That's for sure.

[Suzie]

Have they tested the new wife? He surely must have "honeymooned" her for several days. Why isn't she locked up too?

[Antigone]

Is this the same guy that I heard a short blurb about on the radio that is ticked off they are keeping him quarantined and he has a right to live how he chooses and they can't keep him locked up?

[Lubbock]

I was out running an errand for the office, listening to the radio, and just heard about the new wife --the reason for his "escape" in the first place.

Suzie asked the salient question: why isn't she locked up? What iis the incubation period for this disease? Does anyone know? Highly unlikely that the wife will escape infection.

[Suzie]

It says on webmd that the symptoms develop in weeks to months.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/Tuberculosis-TB-Symptoms

[DoctorDoom]

Is this the same guy that I heard a short blurb about on the radio that is ticked off they are keeping him quarantined and he has a right to live how he chooses and they can't keep him locked up?Sorry, guy, but that argument only works with politically correct diseases such as AIDS.

[Suzie]

CDC: 107 people on TB flights need tests (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/ap_on_re_us/tuberculosis_infection;_ylt=ApMw9ydgZlJt2Y6WfY9ltr kDW7oF) AP - 33 minutes ago Sent 1,260 times ATLANTA - A man with a form of tuberculosis so dangerous he is under the first U.S. government-ordered quarantine since 1963 had health officials around the world scrambling Wednesday to find about 80 passengers who sat within five rows of him on two trans-Atlantic flights.

[Antigone]

Is this the same guy that I heard a short blurb about on the radio that is ticked off they are keeping him quarantined and he has a right to live how he chooses and they can't keep him locked up?

Found it. Looks like the guy I heard about was a different guy. He's got Sherrif Joe of the pink panties looking after him. :thumb:


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0530tbguy0530.html

[Antigone]

A personal injury lawyer. How fitting.

NBC: TB Patient ID'd as 31 Year-Old Andrew Speaker
Posted: 10:54 AM May 31, 2007
Last Updated: 10:54 AM May 31, 2007

ATLANTA - A tuberculosis patient under the first federal quarantine since 1963 has left an Atlanta hospital and was expected to be taken to a Denver facility that specializes in respiratory disorders, officials said Thursday.
NBC News has confirmed from two high-level government sources that the patient is Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old personal injury lawyer from Atlanta.


Speaker knew he had TB when he flew from Atlanta to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon, but he didn’t find out until he was already there that it was an extensively drug-resistant strain considered especially dangerous.


<script type="text/javascript" language="Javascript">if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write('<table style=\&quot;float : right;\&quot; border=\&quot;0\&quot;><tbody><tr><td align=\&quot;center\&quot; valign=\&quot;bottom\&quot;>');if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']){ document.write(plpm['Mid-Story Ad']);} else { if(self['plurp'] && plurp['97']){} else {document.write('<scr'+'ipt language=&quot;Javascript&quot; type=&quot;text/javascript&quot; src=""&quot;http://cas.clickability.com/cas/cas.js?r='+Math.random()+'&p=97&c=6500&m=67&d=25126&pre=%3Ctable+style%3D%22float+%3A+right%3B%22+bord er%3D%220%22%3E%3Ctbody%3E%3Ctr%3E%3Ctd+align%3D%2 2center%22+valign%3D%22bottom%22%3E&post=%3C%2Ftd%3E%3C%2Ftr%3E%3C%2Ftbody%3E%3C%2Ftab le%3E&quot;></scr'+'ipt>'); } }if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write('</td></tr></tbody></table>');</script> Despite warning from federal health officials not to board another long flight, the man flew home for treatment.



http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/7765752.html

[Trevelyan]

The scary thing is that often times there will be no symptoms at all, so people could easily transmit the bacteria to others over a long period of time.

[Antigone]

Looks like a nerdy lawyer too. :evilgrin:

http://www.11alive.com/assetpool/images/0753112222_andrewspeaker250.jpg

[Suzie]

He looks oddly familiar. :question:

[Antigone]

Holy smokes! It just gets better and better. The conspiracy theories we could come up with on this one. :ooo:

Father-in-law of patient works for CDC on TB
<script language="JavaScript">var wn_last_ed_date = getLEDate("May 31, 2007 1:39 PM EST"); document.write(wn_last_ed_date);</script>May 31, 2007 10:39 AM


ATLANTA (AP) - The father-in-law of the tuberculosis patient under the first federal quarantine since 1963 works in a CDC laboratory aimed at preventing the disease and has co-authored papers on tuberculosis.


Bob Cooksey said he gave his son-in-law Andrew Speaker "fatherly advice" when he learned he had contracted the disease. Speaker has a rare and dangerous form of tuberculosis that has proved resistant to drugs.


http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6593078

[Suzie]

Freaky. Makes you think he might have not wanted a new son inlaw. But it would be strange to put his daughter at risk to bump him off this way.

Will he be TB Andy now? Like Typhoid Mary?

[Dowple]

If the father in law knew sonny in law was getting on a multi plane trip across various national borders, he should be FIRED from his job right this very minute. A CDC specialist in TB! Hell, I take it back. Instead of firing him, put HIM on an airplane loaded with drug resistent TB patients and see how he likes it.

[Antigone]

If the father in law knew sonny in law was getting on a multi plane trip across various national borders, he should be FIRED from his job right this very minute. A CDC specialist in TB! Hell, I take it back. Instead of firing him, put HIM on an airplane loaded with drug resistent TB patients and see how he likes it.

Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing a CDC TB specialist let a person with drug resistent TB fly around in commercial planes doesn't it?

[Suzie]

<atl> Risk Factors for Rifampin Mono-resistant Tuberculosis </atl>

<nowrap> RENÉE RIDZON,</nowrap> <nowrap> CYNTHIA G. WHITNEY,</nowrap> <nowrap> MATTHEW T. MCKENNA,</nowrap> <nowrap> JEFFERY P. TAYLOR,</nowrap> <nowrap> SUSAN H. ASHKAR,</nowrap> <nowrap> ANNETTE T. NITTA,</nowrap> <nowrap> SYDNEY M. HARVEY,</nowrap> <nowrap> SARAH VALWAY,</nowrap> <nowrap> CHARLES WOODLEY,</nowrap> <nowrap> ROBERT COOKSEY,</nowrap> <nowrap>and IDA M. ONORATO</nowrap>
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, Epidemiology Program Office, and Division of AIDS, STD, and TB Laboratory Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Surveillance Division, Texas Department of Health, Austin, Texas; Tuberculosis Control Program, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Los Angeles County Public Health Laboratory, Los Angeles, Calfornia.

SOURCE (http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/157/6/1881)

[BEST45CAL]

He escaped from Italy. So he knew he wasn't supposed to fly. He should be in prison.

Numbnuts.:shame:

[Suzie]

Don't you feel sorry for the guy that has to Guard a whiny lawyer who wants out of his cage? That job should pay a small mint. :lol:

[Rhino]

From a report I saw this morning, a Customs officer is in big trouble. When this guy crossed the border from Canada, the computer came back as saying he should be detained and quarantined as a health risk. Supposedly, the Customs agent let him through anyway, because he 'looked healthy'.

[Antigone]

So, does that mean if some terrorist has been flagged and get stopped at the border, he just has to have a good story and "look like a decent sort", so to speak, and someone may let him in?

Scary stuff.

[Rhino]

That's almost exactly what the newscaster said.

[Suzie]

It's really scary they had everything right all the way down to one dude and that guy can blow it. I don't like having to depend on one persons judgment for stuff like this.

[Antigone]

That's almost exactly what the newscaster said.

Wow, I'm smarter than I thought! :D I'm still tuned into the Cartoon Channel and haven't changed it since DD went to school this morning. I haven't watched the news on the tube since yesterday afternoon. Maybe I could get a job as a "nooooooooooos personality". :question:

[Antigone]

It's really scary they had everything right all the way down to one dude and that guy can blow it. I don't like having to depend on one persons judgment for stuff like this.

The problem is it wasn't up to that one person to make a "judgement" at all. He had orders to detain the person, he didn't.

[Suzie]

I would say that was bad judgment. :lol:

[Antigone]

I would say that was bad judgment. :lol:

Yeah, I guess you could look at it that way! :lol:


What I'm trying to say is, that was a decision he was not at liberty to make. If the computer says detain, you detain. It was never his job to decide his higher ups in the food chain were wrong.

[Suzie]

True. But it does come down to him deciding if he is going to enforce it or not. And if he decides no ... we all could pay for what one guy decides.

[Kathy30]

The scary part is, a consideration that he may indeed have a right to spread TB! There is a legal question.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070601/ap_on_he_me/tuberculosis_infection_law_3

[MrsJacks]

I read about this doofus in the AJC last weekend. Nice to know he's from around my neck of the woods. TB hasn't been a problem in this country for years. I say that it's because of all the dang foreigners we let come in and out of America that we are starting to see a rising rate of TB again. This guy with TB here in Atlanta, he knew he was in the wrong. He ran. He escaped from Italy after an order to come back to the States to be quarantined. Went all the way through Canada. In the article in the paper he said he was "in desperate fear for his life". What? Because if you have TB everyone's out to kill you? He was also talking about what an outrage this treatment is because he is "clean, respected and successful". Oh wah! You have a deadly disease. Get over yourself. The good news is, the CDC claims the risk of the passengers on the plane getting this form of TB is pretty slim; however, it makes you wonder if they're only saying that to lessen the panic. The newspaper said this strain of TB can linger in the air for hours and can be transmitted by speaking, singing, sneezing and (of course) coughing.

[dPrasse]

Him and his daddy need to go spend some time at Club Gitmo .... like ... eternity ... they are terrorists in their own right ...

[Suzie]

Lots of the Gitmo residents have TB, he would be right at home.

[MrsJacks]

Wasn't there a situation back a few months ago where some illegals in prison were crying "racial discrimination" because they had been quarantined with TB?

[Suzie]

TB patient's family releases tape

<!-- END HEADLINE --> <!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --> Thu Jun 7, 8:15 AM ET

ATLANTA - The family of a lawyer with a rare strain of tuberculosis released part of a tape recording Wednesday in which a health official is heard saying the man was not contagious and didn't need to be isolated.



MORE HERE (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20070607/ap_tr_ge/tuberculosis_infection_king;_ylt=AuycL.ob38QGC96Rz Z_KUu3MWM0F)

[MrsJacks]

Yeah and now they've found another person infected with TB right here in Georgia. Thirty miles to our north, in Ellijay, a worker at (I believe) a poultry plant was diagnosed with a less severe, more easily treatable form of TB. Now, my grandfather lives in Ellijay and I know that nothing but Guatamalans work in that plant. You tell me that millions of illegals living in this country un-documented without medical examinations and vaccinations are not bringing these crap diseases into our country. Let's brace ourselves, folks...we're going to start seeing deadly diseases popping up in this country that we haven't seen since the Cold War. I'm waiting for another Smallpox outbreak. That will be next.

[Rhino]

Yeah and now they've found another person infected with TB right here in Georgia. Thirty miles to our north, in Ellijay, a worker at (I believe) a poultry plant was diagnosed with a less severe, more easily treatable form of TB. Now, my grandfather lives in Ellijay and I know that nothing but Guatamalans work in that plant. You tell me that millions of illegals living in this country un-documented without medical examinations and vaccinations are not bringing these crap diseases into our country. Let's brace ourselves, folks...we're going to start seeing deadly diseases popping up in this country that we haven't seen since the Cold War. I'm waiting for another Smallpox outbreak. That will be next.The less severe, more easily treatable form of TB, is a lot more common than you might think. These aren't really a concern. It currently runs about 5 cases per 100,000 inthe US. This is a lot like anthrax. It's a lot more common, and a lot less dangerous, than most people think.

[Suzie]

Yahoo! Alerts
Breaking News Tuesday, July 3, 2007, 10:29 AM PDT


ATLANTA (AP) A federal health official says attorney Andrew Speaker has a less severe form of tuberculosis than health officials previously diagnosed.


Breaking News Alerts may be sent before a story is available on Yahoo! News. A story should be published shortly. Search for related news on Yahoo! News Search.

I smell lawsuit.

[Rhino]

Less severe, but less contagious? Not that it really matters anyway, except to him.

[Suzie]

Here's da story.


Official: Man has less severe form of TB (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070703/ap_on_he_me/tuberculosis_infection;_ylt=AjpW5tVNW9S3MCjApacw5h eKOrgF) AP