TB infected man from airplane identified

[calgarygary]

The border guard who ignored the computer warning at the crossing from Canada has been put on administrative leave.

Brandie

That's too bad, that guard is a hero, the creep belongs back in the US not in Canada.

 

[C.Ann]

Evidently he stayed in a hotel in our area overnight.. Authorities have refused to reveal the name of the hotel - saying that he didn't attend the continental breakfast area, etc. - but that still leaves a whole lot of people he could have come in contact with..

If in fact he KNEW he had this disease while traveling, I think some sort of criminal charges should be filed against him.. This is going to be a major inconvenience for people who need to be tested over and over again until they finally get the all clear.. Not to mention the emotinal distress they must be feeling..

There's dumb - and then there's dumber than dumb!!

 

[mickeysgal]

The border guard who ignored the computer warning at the crossing from Canada has been put on administrative leave.

Brandie

Here's a question, how in the world was he allowed by our national security to LEAVE the country?

 

[Northstar]

You know, though it was of course wrong to expose people to infection once he found out he had the very bad drug-resistant TB (apparently they didn't ID the strain until he was already in Italy), you've got to wonder what options the poor guy had... there he was, abroad, and suddenly he's an untouchable. He can't check himself into an ordinary hospital... oops, they don't want him because his sickness is really dangerous and he's a foreigner, not their problem. If he's staying in a hotel, you can bet your life they want him out. Can't just settle down and start a new life in Italy...the Italians aren't going to want him and will probably start deportation proceedings if he tries to stay in the country. The CDC is focused on protecting the public from infection, not on helping him... all they can say is "Don't get on an airplane!" which doesn't help him much in his dilemma.

Gotta say, I'm glad I wasn't in his shoes. I don't know but that I would panic and run home too.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

The CDC is focused on protecting the public from infection, not on helping him... all they can say is "Don't get on an airplane!" which doesn't help him much in his dilemma.

Gotta say, I'm glad I wasn't in his shoes. I don't know but that I would panic and run home too.[/QUOTE]

Well, he was told not to leave the country at all. The CDC did move him, in their plane, and is treating him now in Denver. According to cnn, the CDC was willing to send their private aircraft over to Italy to pick him up but he had left after the Italians spoke to him. So he had choices..the first one was not to endanger others by taking a plane to another country in teh first place.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

That's too bad, that guard is a hero, the creep belongs back in the US not in Canada.

The guy is not a hero. The border guard was suppose to detain him, isolate him, and contact the health officials. The warning told the border guard to don a protective mask and detain the man. He was going to come back to the US, but to isolate him. What the border guard did was potentially expose more people to a drug resistent form of TB. I don't know how you could consider that the actions of a hero.

 

[mickeysgal]

Well, he was told not to leave the country at all. The CDC did move him, in their plane, and is treating him now in Denver. According to cnn, the CDC was willing to send their private aircraft over to Italy to pick him up but he had left after the Italians spoke to him. So he had choices..the first one was not to endanger others by taking a plane to another country in teh first place.

Exactly. The current headlines is all about the agent that let him back into the U.S. Guess thats a way to spin it in order to avoid the question of how in the world did he get out of the country via our national security with a mega-contagious disease such as TB?

How far back in time are this guy's step traced in order to see who he was contact with? Days? Weeks?

 

[canwegosoon]

And did you all hear that this guy is a lawyer(I saw it on CNN)?
The man infected with potentially fatal tuberculosis is an Atlanta, Georgia, lawyer whose father-in-law works at the Centers for Disease Control. Andrew Speaker is now being treated in Colorado, as health officials track down people he may have infected. His father-in-law, Robert C. Cooksey, is a microbiologist who has researched tuberculosis for CDC. He said Speaker's "TB did not originate from myself or the CDC's labs."
But has his daughter been tested? Maybe Speaker got it from his wife.



Mommasita---I will pray for your DH and your family

 

[lajones81]

That's too bad, that guard is a hero, the creep belongs back in the US not in Canada.

I'm not sure I understand how the guard is a hero. Can you help me understand your thinking a little bit better?

 

[goodeats]

Because CalgaryGuy is from Canada.

 

[calgarygary]

I'll have to hunt it up, but there is a loop hole in the law that allowed him to leave and kept the government from stopping him.

This is a major wake up call from many!


U.S. borders are NOT safe and secure

Canada can't say they have tight security or say terrorist can't use them to enter the U.S.

CDC needs to have more power to stop such things


Homeland Security dropped the ball!

In what way does this reflect on Canada's security. He was on a US do not fly list. The US did not contact authorities in other countries advising them of the danger. The US authorities dropped the ball in allowing anyone with any form of TB to fly, much less to other countries. It was a US border crossing guard who ignored the alert (I was being facetious when I called the guard a hero, just thrilled that the lawyer is out of Canada). In what way does this reflect on Canadian security? As for how he may have been treated if Canadian authorities knew he had TB - check out this very recent story about Japanese visitors who were exposed to Measles prior to coming to Canada. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=5f2e59dd-b2c1-41e9-8822-cdb6519f370b&k=28204

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Well the guy was a UGA grad. It is not exactly known for "brains".



(Well I am a Georgia Tech grad and everyone knows the less intelligent attend UGA)

 

[jamimb]

you guys need to read up more on this and maybe have some sympathy for the poor guy. He does have a life threatening disease after all. Yes he knew he had TB before he went overseas but was told repeatedly that he was not a threat.. For weeks after he was diagnosed he was allowed to continue to practice law with his doctors permission. Do you really think his father in law(who works for the CDC) would get on that plane with him if he thought he could hurt anyone else. Apparently he even didnt think he was a threat I mean this guy was marrying his daughter. it was after he was overseas that the CDC told him he had to check into a hospital in Italy. Weeks before this he was told his only hope for surivival was treatment at a hospital in Denver. He was just scared for his life and thought he was no risk to anyone. I would have probably done the same thing in his situation. We cant judge him I mean he was in a foreign country and probably scared out of his wits and just wanted to get back home where he could get treatment. It wasnt smart but hes not what I think you all are making him out to be. I persoanlly think the big wigs at the CDC caught wind of him going and made a big stink out of it just to cover their butts. Before he left CDC officials knew he was leaving they could have quarentined him them but let him go. they advised min not to but I think that was just to cover their own butts!!! I feel sorry for him. Lets just pray for the passangers of the plane that none of them were infected and for the other guys recovery.

 

[grlpwrd]

In what way does this reflect on Canada's security. He was on a US do not fly list. The US did not contact authorities in other countries advising them of the danger. The US authorities dropped the ball in allowing anyone with any form of TB to fly, much less to other countries. It was a US border crossing guard who ignored the alert (I was being facetious when I called the guard a hero, just thrilled that the lawyer is out of Canada). In what way does this reflect on Canadian security? As for how he may have been treated if Canadian authorities knew he had TB - check out this very recent story about Japanese visitors who were exposed to Measles prior to coming to Canada. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=5f2e59dd-b2c1-41e9-8822-cdb6519f370b&k=28204

Rather than this be an American v. Canadian issue, the ultimate responsibility was his. He is a personal injury lawyer who engaged in reckless behavior. Also, his wife is is a third-year law student at Atlanta's Emory University.

Blame him.

This is a humanitarian issue. He should be held accountable and should have done the right thing in the first place. For example, they could have married here. Plus, it also relates to how SARS and the avian flu is going to affect us all. It will take a world effort to fight it, kwim? One person, one infection can and does make a difference when it comes to an epidemic and/or pandemic...

 

[chris1gill]

you guys need to read up more on this and maybe have some sympathy for the poor guy. He does have a life threatening disease after all. Yes he knew he had TB before he went overseas but was told repeatedly that he was not a threat.. For weeks after he was diagnosed he was allowed to continue to practice law with his doctors permission. Do you really think his father in law(who works for the CDC) would get on that plane with him if he thought he could hurt anyone else. Apparently he even didnt think he was a threat I mean this guy was marrying his daughter. it was after he was overseas that the CDC told him he had to check into a hospital in Italy. Weeks before this he was told his only hope for surivival was treatment at a hospital in Denver. He was just scared for his life and thought he was no risk to anyone. I would have probably done the same thing in his situation. We cant judge him I mean he was in a foreign country and probably scared out of his wits and just wanted to get back home where he could get treatment. It wasnt smart but hes not what I think you all are making him out to be. I persoanlly think the big wigs at the CDC caught wind of him going and made a big stink out of it just to cover their butts. Before he left CDC officials knew he was leaving they could have quarentined him them but let him go. they advised min not to but I think that was just to cover their own butts!!! I feel sorry for him. Lets just pray for the passangers of the plane that none of them were infected and for the other guys recovery.

I don't think the facts are really coming across in most of these threads....

I'll say it again, how many MILLIONS of people in every country of the world is diagnosed with TB every single year?? And no, when you are traveling abroad, you have NO idea if it's the person sitting next to you! That's a fact. This guy has been diagnosed with TB since JANUARY, he was under treatment, it wasn't until he'd already left the country that it all of a sudden was dx'd as the more dangerous variety... he's not coughing, he's got no fever & his wife and child have tested NEGATIVE.... I really feel for the guy, what a horrible horrible position to be in.... At the time they boarded that jet to Canada, they were told for 24 hours beforehand, all the way up the chain of command at the CDC that there would be NO aircraft to bring him back to the USA... all I can say is, I'm thankful not to be in his position.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

In what way does this reflect on Canada's security. He was on a US do not fly list. The US did not contact authorities in other countries advising them of the danger. The US authorities dropped the ball in allowing anyone with any form of TB to fly, much less to other countries. It was a US border crossing guard who ignored the alert (I was being facetious when I called the guard a hero, just thrilled that the lawyer is out of Canada). In what way does this reflect on Canadian security? As for how he may have been treated if Canadian authorities knew he had TB - check out this very recent story about Japanese visitors who were exposed to Measles prior to coming to Canada. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=5f2e59dd-b2c1-41e9-8822-cdb6519f370b&k=28204

I agree that the US dropped the ball, as well as the US border guard. I took your original post differently. I thought you were praising the guard for not doing his job,. I get it now.

 

[mommasita]

you guys need to read up more on this and maybe have some sympathy for the poor guy. He does have a life threatening disease after all. Yes he knew he had TB before he went overseas but was told repeatedly that he was not a threat.. For weeks after he was diagnosed he was allowed to continue to practice law with his doctors permission. Do you really think his father in law(who works for the CDC) would get on that plane with him if he thought he could hurt anyone else. Apparently he even didnt think he was a threat I mean this guy was marrying his daughter. it was after he was overseas that the CDC told him he had to check into a hospital in Italy. Weeks before this he was told his only hope for surivival was treatment at a hospital in Denver. He was just scared for his life and thought he was no risk to anyone. I would have probably done the same thing in his situation. We cant judge him I mean he was in a foreign country and probably scared out of his wits and just wanted to get back home where he could get treatment. It wasnt smart but hes not what I think you all are making him out to be. I persoanlly think the big wigs at the CDC caught wind of him going and made a big stink out of it just to cover their butts. Before he left CDC officials knew he was leaving they could have quarentined him them but let him go. they advised min not to but I think that was just to cover their own butts!!! I feel sorry for him. Lets just pray for the passangers of the plane that none of them were infected and for the other guys recovery.

Sorry, I can not say I hate the guy, but DON"T have any sympathy for him. My husband worked that flight, and now we are all at risk.. We were supposed to travel Monday, and we are NOT now. We are not on a no fly list, but advised not to travel, so we are listening. Had he, there would be none of this.

 

[chris1gill]

Sorry, I can not say I hate the guy, but DON"T have any sympathy for him. My husband worked that flight, and now we are all at risk.. We were supposed to travel Monday, and we are NOT now. We are not on a no fly list, but advised not to travel, so we are listening. Had he, there would be none of this.

When will you get your test results?

 

[mommasita]

When will you get your test results?

My husband went yesterday, and has to go back in 6 weeks, sooner if we are called. We are ALSO waiting to hear if the kids have to go also.

 

[chris1gill]

My husband went yesterday, and has to go back in 6 weeks, sooner if we are called. We are ALSO waiting to hear if the kids have to go also.

Will he get yesterday's results prior to six weeks? I think that wait might kill me in and of itself..... What about yourself? EEK, just realized, is your DH still going out and working and such? It's a difficult situation for you

Sending Pixie Dust your way!