XDR TB! Boarder Crossings! Quarantine! Yikes!

[3113]

Have you seen this story? It's unbelievable! Is this how Zombie plagues get started?

Border security scrutinized after TB patient slips in

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A senior House member wants to know how a dangerously infected man managed to get through U.S. Customs and Border Protection even though his passport had been flagged in their computer system. Andrew Speaker, an Atlanta, Georgia, personal-injury lawyer infected with extremely drug-resistant TB, flew from Europe into Canada to avoid a no-fly order in the United States. His passport was checked at the U.S.-Canada border, a Homeland Security official told CNN.

An alert that Speaker should be detained and isolated, and public health officials should be contacted, showed up on the Customs and Border Protection computer system, but he was allowed to cross into the United States at Champlain, New York, anyway, the official said. Speaker was at the border crossing for less than two minutes.

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, has scheduled a hearing for next week. "We had two agencies that should have been in constant communication with each other, and obviously the system failed," Thompson said on CNN's "Paula Zahn Now."

"Mr. Speaker should not have been able to get into Canada and back into the United States undetected. Our system did not work."

The border agent who processed Speaker's entry on May 24 has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation continues, the Homeland Security official said. "There are a number of vulnerabilities that this situation has brought to our attention that we will look for in the committee hearing," Thompson said. "... This hearing will be designed to look at what happened, look at what was supposed to have happened, and try to fix it.

"There are no excuses."

Speaker is receiving treatment at a Denver, Colorado, hospital as federal health officials continue to track down airline passengers who may have been exposed to the illness. Speaker's father-in-law, Robert C. Cooksey, is a microbiologist who studies tuberculosis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. CNN affiliate WSB-TV reported that Cooksey gave his son-in-law "fatherly advice" after he found out Speaker had contracted the infectious disease, but did not advise him in any official capacity.

In a written statement, Cooksey said, "As part of my job, I am regularly tested for TB. I do not have TB, nor have I ever had TB. My son-in-law's TB did not originate from myself or the CDC's labs, which operate under the highest levels of biosecurity. ..."As a parent, frequent traveler, and biologist, I well appreciate the potential harm that can be caused by diseases like TB. I would never knowingly put my daughter, friends or anyone else at risk from such a disease."

Speaker was put in isolation at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital after tests last week confirmed he had extremely drug-resistant TB, or XDR TB, the most dangerous form of the illness. Patient taken to Denver for treatment. He was transferred to Denver Thursday morning on a private aircraft, hospital officials said. A spokesman for Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center said Speaker was wearing a mask and was escorted by federal marshals when he arrived, but seemed normal otherwise. "He looked kind of like you guys, more or less," spokesman William Allstetter told reporters.

Dr. Gwen Huitt, director of the hospital's Adult Infectious Disease Care Unit, said at an afternoon news conference that Speaker was not coughing, had no fever and was considered at low risk for infecting others. He is restricted to his room, she said, but his wife is allowed to visit. "He's been very cooperative," she said.

A medical history and blood were taken, to be followed by chest X-rays and CAT scans, Huitt said. He will start receiving medications Friday and will wear a mask "for the foreseeable future," she said. "He's a young, healthy gentleman, was jogging every day and is quite fit and has no other health issues, so I'm very optimistic that we will be able to help him tremendously," Huitt said. Speaker's treatment would likely cost $250,000 to $350,000, depending on whether he needs surgery, Huitt said.

Speaker has traveled extensively during the past several years, and the source and date of his infection have not been determined, Huitt said. Speaker is concerned about how his illness may have affected others, Huitt noted. The CDC is tracking down airline passengers who may have come into contact with Speaker, who traveled to Europe while he was infected. The agency has identified about 80 air passengers on the two trans-Atlantic flights they feel are most at risk for exposure.

Speaker was in Europe for his wedding and honeymoon at the time his XDR TB was diagnosed, although he was aware before the trip that he had a form of drug-resistant TB. Georgia health officials said they advised him not to travel, but they had no authority to prevent him from doing so. After making it clear that he was set on traveling despite the warnings, Speaker asked during a meeting with county health officials whether it would help if he wore a mask, Fulton County's Dr. Eric Benning told CNN.

Speaker told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that health officials told him they preferred he not travel, but knew about his plans for an overseas wedding and honeymoon. Speaker, whom the newspaper did not identify, said he was aware he was placed on a no-fly list in the United States after his diagnosis with XDR TB, which is why he decided not to fly into a U.S. airport.

The CDC had alerted Customs and Border Protection authorities about him on May 22, noting that they anticipated he might board his scheduled June 5 flight into Atlanta, the official said. Instead, Speaker took a Czech Air flight from Prague to Montreal, along with 199 other passengers and crew members, and then drove into the United States.

People with XDR TB are resistant to first- and second-line drugs; their treatment options are limited and the disease often proves fatal. Between 1993 and 2006, 49 people were diagnosed with XDR TB in the United States, said Dr. Ken Castro, director of the division of TB Elimination at the CDC. The disease is more common elsewhere, he said. "When they looked, they found it in every single continent of the world," he said.The World Health Organization estimates that there were almost half a million cases of multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis worldwide in 2004.

So, let's see if we've go this straight:
1) Guy was told he was okay even thought he wasn't--advised NOT to travel.
2) Decides to have a wedding not only out of state but out of the country...travels.
3) Finds out he's not in good shape--is told NOT TO TRAVEL!
4) Believes he's gonna die, and so he...Travels!! (Who cares if everyone else dies with him, right?)
5) Is allowed to cross the border! (Thank you border patrol. I feel so much safer now....)
6) Apologizes for dragging so many unsuspecting folk into his drama. "Sorry guys. My bad!"

And it's no one's fault. Really.

Am I missing something?

 

[jomar]

Is this how Zombie plagues get started?

No, those happen when they get out of the lab.

As for the TB (I'm tired and couldn't focus on your whole post, sorry), I heard part of a piece on NPR saying the actual likelihood of someone getting it from him was quite small and the media is the one blowing it our of proportion as the story of the hour. But yeah, when will they be done with that fence you can walk around?

 

[SeaCat]

I have been following this story with some interest and more disgust.

The guy needs to be cured then prosecuted.

The guy is a lawyer so he has some intelligence and education. His now Father-in-Law is a CDC Scientist studying TB.

He was diagnosed with an early stage and "Asked" not to travel. He did so anyways. He was then informed he had a dangerous form of TB and told not to travel. He did so anyways. (Knowingly and willingly putting other people at risk.)

Cat

 

[kendo1]

We used to have a boarder.
About 20 years ago, in our first flat.

 

[R. Richard]

The guy is a lawyer so he has some intelligence and education. His now Father-in-Law is a CDC Scientist studying TB.
Cat

Education, obviously. Intellligence, maybe.

 

[S-Des]

Have you seen this story? It's unbelievable! Is this how Zombie plagues get started?

So, let's see if we've go this straight:
1) Guy was told he was okay even thought he wasn't--advised NOT to travel.
2) Decides to have a wedding not only out of state but out of the country...travels.
3) Finds out he's not in good shape--is told NOT TO TRAVEL!
4) Believes he's gonna die, and so he...Travels!! (Who cares if everyone else dies with him, right?)
5) Is allowed to cross the border! (Thank you border patrol. I feel so much safer now....)
6) Apologizes for dragging so many unsuspecting folk into his drama. "Sorry guys. My bad!"

And it's no one's fault. Really.

Am I missing something?

I blame Rob...he's Canadian.


I heard the guy interviewed and he sounded like a real winner. He admitted "in hindsight" he could have raised the money for private travel, but didn't think of it at the time. It seemed like a better solution to travel out of his way, potentially exposing more people. All the people that are now being inconvenienced by having to run in and take medical tests (not to mention the stress of knowing they could be infected and might have infected loved ones) should get about 20 minutes alone in a room with him (assuming he gets better). Whether the media is blowing it out of proportion or not, he intentionally put others in danger to make sure he was taken care of.

 

[3113]

Whether the media is blowing it out of proportion or not, he intentionally put others in danger to make sure he was taken care of.

Yep, that was my thought. I mean, okay maybe it's really hard to get this TB (GOOD!), everyone he ineracted with still have to be found, tested, and continually re-tested. Their lives have been turned upsidedown by this guy and why? Because he couldn't stay to his wife-to-be, "Look, I've been advised not to travel; maybe it's not such a good idea to have our wedding in Greece" (!!!) Greece?

And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, when he found out the worse, he still couldn't stay put!

I blame Rob...he's Canadian.

Rob, have you been sneaking Americans back across the border again?

 

[rgraham666]

Rob, have you been sneaking Americans back across the border again?

Not sayin'.

 

[likesmbig]

I think TB Guy looks like a used car salesman, and I can't believe a word he says. But I could go on about that all day...

Anyone notice that they let Dr. Kevorkian out of jail yesterday? Brings up an interesting possibility.

 

[jomar]

All the people that are now being inconvenienced by having to run in and take medical tests (not to mention the stress of knowing they could be infected and might have infected loved ones) should get about 20 minutes alone in a room with him (assuming he gets better). Whether the media is blowing it out of proportion or not, he intentionally put others in danger to make sure he was taken care of.

Like I said, I didn't hear the whole piece. My comment was simply about the level of risk and media coverage. Yeah, he obviously did a stupid thing.