# International Flight Passengers Possibly Exposed to "Super TB" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 29, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982 "2007-05-29T20:38:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/1 "2007-05-29T20:38:50Z")
[Scary stuff!](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10515461) > [@](#): > > A man with a rare and exceptionally dangerous form of tuberculosis has been placed in quarantine by the U.S. government after possibly exposing passengers and crew on two trans-Atlantic flights earlier this month, health officials said Tuesday. > [@](#): > > The infected 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 104 from Prague to Montreal. The man then drove into the United States. > > He cooperated with authorities after learning he had an unusually dangerous form of TB. He voluntarily went to a hospital and is not facing prosecution, officials said. > > The man is hospitalized in Atlanta in respiratory isolation, according to the World Health Organization. > > He was potentially infectious at the time of the flights, so CDC officials recommended medical exams for cabin crew members on those flights, as well as passengers sitting in the same rows or within two rows. I hope no one else got infected. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/2 "2007-05-29T21:22:05Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] [Scary stuff!](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10515461)I hope no one else got infected. [/QUOTE] Ewww. I heard this today as well. I feel sorry for sick people when they’re traveling, but this gives me even more incentive to cover my mouth and nose and not touch anything when I fly tomorrow. Some tools hack away, sneeze, whatever, exposing the entire populace to their nasty germs. Hopefully this guy tried to avoid those behaviors. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/3 "2007-05-29T21:27:13Z")
This reminds me of James Tiptree, Jr’s short story [The Last Flight Of Dr. Ain](http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11072/3050/Stories/Two_by_Tiptree.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/4 "2007-05-29T23:04:06Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] [Scary stuff!](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10515461)I hope no one else got infected. [/QUOTE] My understanding is that TB is not particularly contagious. Let’s hope that the odds are with the rest of the people on that flight. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/5 "2007-05-30T00:01:24Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] My understanding is that TB is not particularly contagious. Let’s hope that the odds are with the rest of the people on that flight. [/QUOTE] It’s spread by droplets, rather than being airborne, so that’s one point in favor of them. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/6 "2007-05-30T03:17:33Z")
A guy I know is doing drug research on this form of TB in Korea, where it’s (he says) widespread. He says it’s been around for a while. While it’s certainly troubling, it’s not the end of humanity, nor as bad as some people might think. At any rate, I hope his research bears fruit. Apparently, the antibiotic they’re trying is pretty bad for the patient, but still better than TB. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/7 "2007-05-30T12:31:42Z")
NPR was reporting that the guy was on the “no fly” list **before** getting on those planes. WTF is the point of the list if it _doesn’t_ stop people from flying? ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/8 "2007-05-30T18:51:15Z")
I think this was completely selfish behavior on his part, he said in an interview he’s “intelligent” and “educated” but then he admitted to ignoring the strong CDC instructions to stay in Italy, deciding with his new wife to “sneak” onto a flight from Prague to Canada and then drive into the U.S. He knew he was on a “no-fly” list, but cited a fear of dying for lack of U.S. medical care as a reason for his haste to get back to the U.S. Great, and potentially infect a bunch of unsuspecting people in the process. If he thought Europe is so backward, why did he plan a wedding and honeymoon there? What an ass. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/9 "2007-05-31T16:59:19Z")
So someone who was rightfully put on the no-fly list by the CIA or FBI can get on a US-bound flight by coughing dramatically and claiming to have a great need for US medical care? Great. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/10 "2007-05-31T17:06:36Z")
[QUOTE=Rusalka] If he thought Europe is so backward, why did he plan a wedding and honeymoon there? What an ass. [/QUOTE] That’s kind of unfair- lots of people might plan a wedding and a honeymoon in a country they might consider backward, but not want to rely on their medical facilities. Now, considering Italian medical care that inferior to American medical care is a little strange. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/11 "2007-05-31T17:28:55Z")
[QUOTE=TJdude825] So someone who was rightfully put on the no-fly list by the CIA or FBI can get on a US-bound flight by coughing dramatically and claiming to have a great need for US medical care? Great. [/QUOTE] my underlining - He boarded a plane for Canada - not the US. Does the ‘no-fly’ lists apply to flights from the Czech Republic to Canada? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/12 "2007-05-31T17:51:37Z")
[QUOTE=Earthworm Jim] my underlining - He boarded a plane for Canada - not the US. Does the ‘no-fly’ lists apply to flights from the Czech Republic to Canada? [/QUOTE] My understanding is that there’s an “international no fly list,” meaning that **no** airline, anywhere in the world will let you onboard a plane. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/13 "2007-05-31T20:12:27Z")
This selfish asshole of a lawyer knew before he left Atlanta that he had a deadly, difficult to treat, infectious disease. He was told not to go anywhere. Instead he decided to hope on a plane to Paris, then continued to fly around Europe. In Italy the CDC tracked him down and told him to stay put, they were on the way. Instead he hopes on a few more planes and decides to fly into Canada then drive into the U.S. Seven flights in all (which shows you how effective the U.S. no fly list is), and travel to honeymoon hotspots, exposing thousands of people to a multiple drug resistant strain of TB. This asshole is now being treated in Denver, and will likely spend the next **year** in a quarantine ward. I hope to hell he then gets charged with reckless endangerment and has to spend some time in jail, or has to pay a fine equivalent to the cost of testing everyone he came into contact with. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/14 "2007-05-31T22:34:48Z")
Gah, it gets _worse_. The numbskull’s father in law does[TB research for the CDC](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3231235)! ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/15 "2007-05-31T22:50:30Z")
How did this guy know that flying to the Czech republic would successfully get him on a plane to Canada? Did he try different airlines until he got one that gave him a ticket? That’s pretty convoluted and conniving. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/16 "2007-06-01T01:25:39Z")
Now for the important question – how do we blame this on Hillary? ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/17 "2007-06-01T01:57:57Z")
[QUOTE=Barbarian] Gah, it gets _worse_. The numbskull’s father in law does[TB research for the CDC](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3231235)! [/QUOTE] I’m seeing a Law & Order episode where a family member who works at a disease lab helps another family member infect an unwanted third family member. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/18 "2007-06-01T03:10:11Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] My understanding is that there’s an “international no fly list,” meaning that **no** airline, anywhere in the world will let you onboard a plane. [/QUOTE] No, each country has its own. This has been discussed as Canada has begun to implement its own (despite the serious misgivings of civil liberties associations) and it has been a subject of discussion how much will be shared between Canada’s and the U.S.'s list. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-flight-passengers-possibly-exposed-to-super-tb/405982/19 "2007-06-01T06:08:26Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] That’s kind of unfair- lots of people might plan a wedding and a honeymoon in a country they might consider backward, but not want to rely on their medical facilities. Now, considering Italian medical care that inferior to American medical care is a little strange. [/QUOTE] I don’t think it’s unfair at all. If you had a serious enough strain of TB that you received a visit from county officials, would you be jetting off the next day to countries good enough to serve you a honeymoon but not good enough for medical care? For the self-important sissy he appears to be in interviews (“…waaah! I can’t stay in Italy, no way!”), he should have been thinking “gee my life might be in danger” before he left for the “third world” (sarcasm intendend). He wasn’t being consistent.