Biologist who specializes in Tuberculosis is father-in-law to infected traveler - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Ireneparalegal · 05-31-2007, 08:16 PM

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles...29152509990002

Agent Let Tuberculosis Patient Back in U.S.
Border Inspector Ignored Warning to Stop Infected Man
By GREG BLUESTEIN and DEVLIN BARRETT
AP
ATLANTA (May 31) - A globe-trotting Atlanta lawyer with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis was allowed back into the U.S. by a border inspector who disregarded a computer warning to stop him and don protective gear, officials said Thursday. The inspector has been removed from border duty.

The unidentified inspector explained that he was no doctor but that the infected man seemed perfectly healthy and that he thought the warning was merely "discretionary," officials briefed on the case told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is still under investigation.

The patient was identified as Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old personal injury lawyer who returned last week from his wedding and honeymoon trip through Italy, the Greek isles and other spots in Europe. His new father-in-law, Robert C. Cooksey, is a CDC microbiologist whose specialty is TB and other bacteria.

Cooksey would not comment on whether he reported his son-in-law to federal health authorities. Nor did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain how the case came to their attention. However, Cooksey said that neither he nor his CDC laboratory was the source of his son-in-law's TB.

Speaker is now under quarantine at a hospital in Denver. He is the first infected person to be quarantined by the U.S. government since 1963.

The disclosure that the patient is a lawyer - and specifically a personal injury lawyer - outraged many people on the Internet and elsewhere. Some travelers who flew on the same planes with Speaker angrily accused him of selfishly putting hundreds of people's lives in danger.

"It's still very scary," 21-year-old Laney Wiggins, one of more than two dozen University of South Carolina-Aiken students who are getting skin tests for TB. "That is an outrageous number of people that he was very reckless with their health. It's not fair. It's selfish."

Speaker said in a newspaper interview that he knew he had TB when he flew from Atlanta to Europe in mid-May for his wedding and honeymoon, but that he did not find out until he was already in Rome that it was an extensively drug-resistant strain considered especially dangerous.

Despite warnings from federal health officials not to board another long flight, he flew home for treatment, fearing he wouldn't survive if he didn't reach the U.S., he said. He said he tried to sneak home by way of Canada instead of flying directly into the U.S.

He was quarantined May 25, a day after he was allowed to pass through the border crossing at Champlain, N.Y., along the Canadian border.

The inspector ran Speaker's passport through a computer, and a warning - including instructions to hold the traveler, don a protective mask in dealing with him, and telephone health authorities - popped up, officials said. About a minute later, Speaker was instead cleared to continue on his journey, according to officials familiar with the records.

Colleen Kelley, president of the union that represents customs and border agents, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said "public health issues were not receiving adequate attention and training" within the agency.

On Thursday, a tan and healthy-looking Speaker was flown from Atlanta to Denver, accompanied by his wife and federal marshals, to Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center, where doctors planned to isolate him and treat him with oral and intravenous antibiotics.

Dr. Charles Daley, chief of the hospital's infectious-disease division, said he is optimistic Speaker can be cured because he is believed to be in the early stages of the disease.

Dr. Gwen Huitt of National Jewish described Speaker as "a young, healthy individual" who is "doing extremely well."

"By conventional methods that we traditionally use in the public health arena ... he would be considered low infectivity at this point in time," she said. "He is not coughing, he is healthy, he does not have a fever."

Doctors hope also to determine where he contracted the disease, which has been found around the world and exists in pockets in Russia and Asia.

He will be kept in a special unit with a ventilation system to prevent the escape of germs. "He may not leave that room much for several weeks," hospital spokesman William Allstetter said.

Speaker's father-in-law has worked at the CDC for 32 years and is in the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, where he works with TB and other organisms. He has co-authored papers on diabetes, TB and other infectious diseases.

"As part of my job, I am regularly tested for TB. I do not have TB, nor have I ever had TB," he said in a statement. "My son-in-law's TB did not originate from myself or the CDC's labs, which operate under the highest levels of biosecurity."

In a brief telephone interview with the AP, Cooksey said that he gave Speaker "fatherly advice" when he learned the young man had contracted the disease.

"I'm hoping and praying that he's getting the proper treatment, that my daughter is holding up mentally and physically," Cooksey said. "Had I known that my daughter was in any risk, I would not allow her to travel."

According to a biography posted on a Web site connected with Speaker's law firm, the young lawyer attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in finance, then attended University of Georgia's law school. He is in private practice with his father, Ted Speaker, an unsuccessful candidate for a judgeship in 2004.

Speaker's father told WSB-TV: "The way he's been shown and spoken about on TV, it's like a terrorist traveling around the world escaping authorities. It's blown out of proportion immensely."

Andrew Speaker recently moved from an upscale condominium complex in anticipation of his wedding, former neighbors said. He also wrote in an application to become a board member of his condo association that he was going to Vietnam for five weeks as part of the Rotary Club to act as an ambassador.

His wife, Sarah, is a third-year law student at Atlanta's Emory University.

"He's a great guy. Gregarious," said Pam Hood, a former neighbor. "He's a wonderful guy. Just a very, very pleasant man."

Health officials in North America and Europe are now trying to track down about 80 passengers who sat near him on his two trans-Atlantic flights, and they want passenger lists from four shorter flights he took while in Europe.

However, other passengers are not considered at high risk of infection because tests indicated the amount of TB bacteria in Speaker was low, said Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC's division of global migration and quarantine.

Health law experts said Speaker could be sued if others contract TB.

"There are a number of cases that say a person who negligently transmits an infectious disease could be held liable," said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University. "So long as he knew it was infectious, and knew about the appropriate behavior but failed to comply, he could be held liable."

Speaker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wasn't coughing and that doctors initially did not order him not to fly and only suggested he put off his long-planned wedding. "We headed off to Greece thinking everything's fine," he told the newspaper.

Devlin Barrett contributed to this story from Washington. Associated Press writers Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington; Mike Stobbe in Atlanta; Jim Davenport in Columbia, S.C.; and Colleen Slevin in Denver also contributed to this report, along with AP news researcher Judy Ausuebel in New York.

MonarC · 05-31-2007, 08:44 PM

I have to say that is a weird story. Well you know what they say reality is stranger than fiction.

Janice · 05-31-2007, 09:15 PM

Drudge has good coverage of this story, and I've been following it very closely. This latest twist is very bizarre. How did the man contract the TB...

http://www.drudgereport.com/

Here he is with his wife.

Ireneparalegal · 05-31-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice

Drudge has good coverage of this story, and I've been following it very closely. This latest twist is very bizarre. How did the man contract the TB...

http://www.drudgereport.com/

Here he is with his wife.

thanx for that link. It is very interesting indeed. Isn't it a wee bit too late for her to wear that mask? They just came back from their honeymoon.

What scares me is that an infected person was able to travel, what does that say abt possible terrorists?

catlover79 · 05-31-2007, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

thanx for that link. It is very interesting indeed. Isn't it a wee bit too late for her to wear that mask? They just came back from their honeymoon.

What scares me is that an infected person was able to travel, what does that say abt possible terrorists?

I was thinking that very thing, Irene. This whole thing is very fishy.

Ireneparalegal · 05-31-2007, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I was thinking that very thing, Irene. This whole thing is very fishy.

It really is. I mean, the father-in-law just happens to specialize in TB and here is his brand new son-in-law who has the worst TB you can get. Hmmmm.....

catlover79 · 05-31-2007, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

It really is. I mean, the father-in-law just happens to specialize in TB and here is his brand new son-in-law who has the worst TB you can get. Hmmmm.....

You hit the nail on the head, Irene. I'm not buying that it's all a coincidence. No way.

Ireneparalegal · 06-01-2007, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

You hit the nail on the head, Irene. I'm not buying that it's all a coincidence. No way.

You and I are on the same wave lenghts here. What is scary is that this man's daughter married this guy and honeymooned with him. This is straight outta a Stephen King novel.

Lee · 06-01-2007, 03:37 PM

Please have some sympathy for this man who is fighting a serious illness
right now.

Ireneparalegal · 06-01-2007, 05:46 PM

I do have sympathy for the guy...my concern is how is it his father-in-law happens to be a specialist in TB and now this guy has it???? My focus is on whether the father-in-law did anything deliberate to his daughter's husband. That is scary. Or, was this specialist "careless" somehow and his son-in-law became infected accidently?

These are the things we need to know. With bio-terrorism right at our door-step, we have a right to know and be protected.

catlover79 · 06-01-2007, 06:16 PM

I never said I didn't feel sorry for the guy...according to Yahoo news, he apologized and begged forgiveness from the other passengers. Why was he let on the plane on the first place? I still don't know that answer.

In the post-9/11 world, we are entitled to safety as we travel. I still don't think the government and airlines have done a good enough job protecting passengers. We have to be as vigilant and aware and as possible!

Ireneparalegal · 06-01-2007, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I never said I didn't feel sorry for the guy...according to Yahoo news, he apologized and begged forgiveness from the other passengers. Why was he let on the plane on the first place? I still don't know that answer.

In the post-9/11 world, we are entitled to safety as we travel. I still don't think the government and airlines have done a good enough job protecting passengers. We have to be as vigilant and aware and as possible!

Exactly. There were too many "goofs" in allowing this guy to travel. I am thinking abt the many people he encountered on his trip abroad. The airline employees, the people on the plane, his wife and step-daughter of course, the hotel employees, people at tourist spots, etc. This is unexcusable. And whoever is responsible needs to be dealt with swiftly. I don't feel safe at all, before 9/11 and certainly not after 9/11.

Janice · 06-03-2007, 11:31 PM

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles...00010000000001

TB Patient's Father-in-Law to Be Investigated

Microbiologist Studies Tuberculosis at the CDC

DENVER (June 3) - A federal microbiologist, the father-in-law of the man quarantined with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis , will be investigated to see how he was involved in the case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.

Meanwhile, the CDC said it has withdrawn the federal isolation order for TB patient Andrew Speaker because a Denver health agency's order to detain him at a hospital there is sufficient to protect the public's health. The action ends the first federal quarantine order since 1963.

Speaker has said he, his doctors and the CDC all knew he had TB that was resistant to some drugs before he flew to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon last month.

Robert Cooksey, whose specialty at the CDC is TB and other bacteria, and who attended his daughter's wedding, has said he provided "fatherly advice" to Speaker about traveling with the illness.

Speaker said he was advised at the time by Fulton County, Ga., health authorities that he was not contagious or a danger to anyone. Officials told him they would prefer he didn't fly, but no one ordered him not to, he said.

Quarantined TB Patient Talks

Speaker was in Europe when he learned tests showed he had not just TB, but an extremely drug-resistant strain known as XDR.

Federal health officials said Friday that Cooksey had helped to find Speaker and diagnose his condition. They would not give any more information about the investigation.

Despite warnings from federal health officials not to board another long flight, Speaker flew back for treatment, fearing he wouldn't survive if he didn't reach the U.S., he has said. He said he tried to sneak home by way of Canada instead of flying directly into the U.S.

He was federally quarantined May 25, a day after he was allowed to pass through the border crossing at Champlain, N.Y.

The Denver health authority has ordered that Speaker be detained at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center until tests indicate he is no longer contagious, the CDC said.

Speaker settled in Saturday for what could be a two-month hospital stay by taking antibiotics and fielding phone calls. He had breakfast and spent much of the day on the phone with well-wishers, his nurses at National Jewish reported.

Accompanied by his new bride, the 31-year-old Georgia attorney also used a laptop to communicate from his second-floor isolation room, equipped with an exercise bicycle and a TV, hospital spokeswoman Geri Reinardy said.

Speaker was taking antibiotics to battle a tennis-ball-size infection in his lung, Reinardy said. Doctors said his treatment could include surgery to remove the infected tissue if the drugs don't work.

Tests so far indicate Speaker's risk of spreading the infection are low, doctors said. No medical briefings for the news media were planned during the weekend.

Doctors hope to determine where Speaker contracted the disease, which has been found around the world and exists in pockets in Russia and Asia. The tuberculosis was discovered when Speaker had a chest X-ray in January for a rib injury.

Since 2000, National Jewish has successfully treated two other patients with XDR. Dr. Gwen Huitt said they were under quarantine in their home counties, then placed under quarantine in Denver once they arrived at National Jewish, driven there nonstop by family members.

Health officials have contacted 160 of the 292 U.S. citizens who were on the May 12 flight from Atlanta to Paris, according to the CDC. That count includes all 26 who sat in the five rows around Speaker - the ones considered at greatest risk.

The CDC initially said there were 310 aboard the flight but reduced the number because of duplicate names.

TripperFan · 06-04-2007, 10:50 AM

Very interesting point Irene I hadn't even thought of any "deliberate" action here. They should look at his father in law closely. I'm sure he was consulted before they travelled abroad.

I really wonder sometimes if these doctors really know what they're dealing with when it comes to TB. Back when my mother was in training to become a nurse, (in the early 40's) she contracted TB (not from a patient though). She had to drop out of nursing school, but was never quarantined (back then they sent you to a sanitorium but she never was - just made to stay home and not in quarantine).
Anyway, the spot healed and it was forgotten until the early 80s when they discovered another spot on her lung. Because I lived with her (and shared everything - towels, dinnerware, etc. and she did most of the cooking) we both had to be tested.
They claimed her type of TB was "A-Typical" - a non-contagious form - or only contagious to people with low immune systems (like people with AIDS, cancer, etc.) They quarantined her at first at the hospital - for only a week or so. She was treated like absolute dirt. One nurse actually THREW her pills at her from the door and wouldn't come in the room. Even though I repeatedly tested negative we were both treated like lepers. I had to wear a mask and gown in and out of the hospital.
She was then sent home and even though it was cleared as A-Typical, we were both quarantined together for 10 more days.

I had wondered if this guy's TB was the same since he's obviously been with his wife and others in close contact throughout this whole thing. He says he's been abandoned by the CDC and I can see it happening. It's as though they're using him to show how easily this could happen if terrorists wanted to pull something.

Honestly, I feel badly for this guy. I know first hand some of the stuff the medical community tells you and the conflicting opinions. I'm sure he is totally innocent in all this.

Ireneparalegal · 06-04-2007, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TripperFan

Very interesting point Irene I hadn't even thought of any "deliberate" action here. They should look at his father in law closely. I'm sure he was consulted before they travelled abroad.

I really wonder sometimes if these doctors really know what they're dealing with when it comes to TB. Back when my mother was in training to become a nurse, (in the early 40's) she contracted TB (not from a patient though). She had to drop out of nursing school, but was never quarantined (back then they sent you to a sanitorium but she never was - just made to stay home and not in quarantine).
Anyway, the spot healed and it was forgotten until the early 80s when they discovered another spot on her lung. Because I lived with her (and shared everything - towels, dinnerware, etc. and she did most of the cooking) we both had to be tested.
They claimed her type of TB was "A-Typical" - a non-contagious form - or only contagious to people with low immune systems (like people with AIDS, cancer, etc.) They quarantined her at first at the hospital - for only a week or so. She was treated like absolute dirt. One nurse actually THREW her pills at her from the door and wouldn't come in the room. Even though I repeatedly tested negative we were both treated like lepers. I had to wear a mask and gown in and out of the hospital.
She was then sent home and even though it was cleared as A-Typical, we were both quarantined together for 10 more days.

I had wondered if this guy's TB was the same since he's obviously been with his wife and others in close contact throughout this whole thing. He says he's been abandoned by the CDC and I can see it happening. It's as though they're using him to show how easily this could happen if terrorists wanted to pull something.

Honestly, I feel badly for this guy. I know first hand some of the stuff the medical community tells you and the conflicting opinions. I'm sure he is totally innocent in all this.

I am certain he is innocent as far as how he got the TB. I highly doubt he wanted to contract that. His actions afterwards are kindy "iffy". Then again, we don't know the whole story, we are simply going by what the media is telling us. As the investigation goes on, I am sure we will get to the bottom of this awful story.

I feel for you and what you and your mother were subjected to. That is downright wrong and terrible. It reminds me of the early days of HIV/AIDs epidemic. Being treated that way by health care professionals is what appalls me even more. I have a step-daughter who accidently pricked herself on a needle at work (she is a dental hygienist). For the last 4 months she has had to do testing to check for hepatitis, HIV and other things. She is scared especially since the patient she was working on is HIV positive. It is a nightmare for our medical and dental professionals.

05-31-2007, 08:16 PM	#1
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	Biologist who specializes in Tuberculosis is father-in-law to infected traveler http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles...29152509990002 Agent Let Tuberculosis Patient Back in U.S. Border Inspector Ignored Warning to Stop Infected Man By GREG BLUESTEIN and DEVLIN BARRETT AP ATLANTA (May 31) - A globe-trotting Atlanta lawyer with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis was allowed back into the U.S. by a border inspector who disregarded a computer warning to stop him and don protective gear, officials said Thursday. The inspector has been removed from border duty. The unidentified inspector explained that he was no doctor but that the infected man seemed perfectly healthy and that he thought the warning was merely "discretionary," officials briefed on the case told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is still under investigation. The patient was identified as Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old personal injury lawyer who returned last week from his wedding and honeymoon trip through Italy, the Greek isles and other spots in Europe. His new father-in-law, Robert C. Cooksey, is a CDC microbiologist whose specialty is TB and other bacteria. Cooksey would not comment on whether he reported his son-in-law to federal health authorities. Nor did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain how the case came to their attention. However, Cooksey said that neither he nor his CDC laboratory was the source of his son-in-law's TB. Speaker is now under quarantine at a hospital in Denver. He is the first infected person to be quarantined by the U.S. government since 1963. The disclosure that the patient is a lawyer - and specifically a personal injury lawyer - outraged many people on the Internet and elsewhere. Some travelers who flew on the same planes with Speaker angrily accused him of selfishly putting hundreds of people's lives in danger. "It's still very scary," 21-year-old Laney Wiggins, one of more than two dozen University of South Carolina-Aiken students who are getting skin tests for TB. "That is an outrageous number of people that he was very reckless with their health. It's not fair. It's selfish." Speaker said in a newspaper interview that he knew he had TB when he flew from Atlanta to Europe in mid-May for his wedding and honeymoon, but that he did not find out until he was already in Rome that it was an extensively drug-resistant strain considered especially dangerous. Despite warnings from federal health officials not to board another long flight, he flew home for treatment, fearing he wouldn't survive if he didn't reach the U.S., he said. He said he tried to sneak home by way of Canada instead of flying directly into the U.S. He was quarantined May 25, a day after he was allowed to pass through the border crossing at Champlain, N.Y., along the Canadian border. The inspector ran Speaker's passport through a computer, and a warning - including instructions to hold the traveler, don a protective mask in dealing with him, and telephone health authorities - popped up, officials said. About a minute later, Speaker was instead cleared to continue on his journey, according to officials familiar with the records. Colleen Kelley, president of the union that represents customs and border agents, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said "public health issues were not receiving adequate attention and training" within the agency. On Thursday, a tan and healthy-looking Speaker was flown from Atlanta to Denver, accompanied by his wife and federal marshals, to Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center, where doctors planned to isolate him and treat him with oral and intravenous antibiotics. Dr. Charles Daley, chief of the hospital's infectious-disease division, said he is optimistic Speaker can be cured because he is believed to be in the early stages of the disease. Dr. Gwen Huitt of National Jewish described Speaker as "a young, healthy individual" who is "doing extremely well." "By conventional methods that we traditionally use in the public health arena ... he would be considered low infectivity at this point in time," she said. "He is not coughing, he is healthy, he does not have a fever." Doctors hope also to determine where he contracted the disease, which has been found around the world and exists in pockets in Russia and Asia. He will be kept in a special unit with a ventilation system to prevent the escape of germs. "He may not leave that room much for several weeks," hospital spokesman William Allstetter said. Speaker's father-in-law has worked at the CDC for 32 years and is in the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, where he works with TB and other organisms. He has co-authored papers on diabetes, TB and other infectious diseases. "As part of my job, I am regularly tested for TB. I do not have TB, nor have I ever had TB," he said in a statement. "My son-in-law's TB did not originate from myself or the CDC's labs, which operate under the highest levels of biosecurity." In a brief telephone interview with the AP, Cooksey said that he gave Speaker "fatherly advice" when he learned the young man had contracted the disease. "I'm hoping and praying that he's getting the proper treatment, that my daughter is holding up mentally and physically," Cooksey said. "Had I known that my daughter was in any risk, I would not allow her to travel." According to a biography posted on a Web site connected with Speaker's law firm, the young lawyer attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in finance, then attended University of Georgia's law school. He is in private practice with his father, Ted Speaker, an unsuccessful candidate for a judgeship in 2004. Speaker's father told WSB-TV: "The way he's been shown and spoken about on TV, it's like a terrorist traveling around the world escaping authorities. It's blown out of proportion immensely." Andrew Speaker recently moved from an upscale condominium complex in anticipation of his wedding, former neighbors said. He also wrote in an application to become a board member of his condo association that he was going to Vietnam for five weeks as part of the Rotary Club to act as an ambassador. His wife, Sarah, is a third-year law student at Atlanta's Emory University. "He's a great guy. Gregarious," said Pam Hood, a former neighbor. "He's a wonderful guy. Just a very, very pleasant man." Health officials in North America and Europe are now trying to track down about 80 passengers who sat near him on his two trans-Atlantic flights, and they want passenger lists from four shorter flights he took while in Europe. However, other passengers are not considered at high risk of infection because tests indicated the amount of TB bacteria in Speaker was low, said Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC's division of global migration and quarantine. Health law experts said Speaker could be sued if others contract TB. "There are a number of cases that say a person who negligently transmits an infectious disease could be held liable," said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University. "So long as he knew it was infectious, and knew about the appropriate behavior but failed to comply, he could be held liable." Speaker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wasn't coughing and that doctors initially did not order him not to fly and only suggested he put off his long-planned wedding. "We headed off to Greece thinking everything's fine," he told the newspaper. Devlin Barrett contributed to this story from Washington. Associated Press writers Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington; Mike Stobbe in Atlanta; Jim Davenport in Columbia, S.C.; and Colleen Slevin in Denver also contributed to this report, along with AP news researcher Judy Ausuebel in New York.
	__________________ DALLAS COWBOYS ARE HERE AT TRAINING CAMP!!!

06-01-2007, 03:37 PM	#9
Lee veteran member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 23, 2001 Location: Pulaski, Tennessee Posts: 4,768	Guys... Please have some sympathy for this man who is fighting a serious illness right now.

06-04-2007, 10:50 AM	#14
TripperFan In God's Arms Now Forum Star Join Date: Sep 14, 2003 Location: Heartbreak Ridge Posts: 12,086	Very interesting point Irene I hadn't even thought of any "deliberate" action here. They should look at his father in law closely. I'm sure he was consulted before they travelled abroad. I really wonder sometimes if these doctors really know what they're dealing with when it comes to TB. Back when my mother was in training to become a nurse, (in the early 40's) she contracted TB (not from a patient though). She had to drop out of nursing school, but was never quarantined (back then they sent you to a sanitorium but she never was - just made to stay home and not in quarantine). Anyway, the spot healed and it was forgotten until the early 80s when they discovered another spot on her lung. Because I lived with her (and shared everything - towels, dinnerware, etc. and she did most of the cooking) we both had to be tested. They claimed her type of TB was "A-Typical" - a non-contagious form - or only contagious to people with low immune systems (like people with AIDS, cancer, etc.) They quarantined her at first at the hospital - for only a week or so. She was treated like absolute dirt. One nurse actually THREW her pills at her from the door and wouldn't come in the room. Even though I repeatedly tested negative we were both treated like lepers. I had to wear a mask and gown in and out of the hospital. She was then sent home and even though it was cleared as A-Typical, we were both quarantined together for 10 more days. I had wondered if this guy's TB was the same since he's obviously been with his wife and others in close contact throughout this whole thing. He says he's been abandoned by the CDC and I can see it happening. It's as though they're using him to show how easily this could happen if terrorists wanted to pull something. Honestly, I feel badly for this guy. I know first hand some of the stuff the medical community tells you and the conflicting opinions. I'm sure he is totally innocent in all this.
	__________________ If I don't see you in this world, I'll meet you in the next one.....don't be late James Marshall Hendrix Voodoo Chile The Forum Legend formerly known as TripperFan "religion is for people who are afraid of hell--spirituality is for people who have been through hell"---anonymous

05-31-2007, 08:44 PM	#2
MonarC The truth will set you free Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 05, 2002 Location: 3rd Stone From The Sun Posts: 9,525	I have to say that is a weird story. Well you know what they say reality is stranger than fiction.

05-31-2007, 09:15 PM	#3
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	Drudge has good coverage of this story, and I've been following it very closely. This latest twist is very bizarre. How did the man contract the TB... http://www.drudgereport.com/ Here he is with his wife.

06-01-2007, 05:46 PM	#10
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	I do have sympathy for the guy...my concern is how is it his father-in-law happens to be a specialist in TB and now this guy has it???? My focus is on whether the father-in-law did anything deliberate to his daughter's husband. That is scary. Or, was this specialist "careless" somehow and his son-in-law became infected accidently? These are the things we need to know. With bio-terrorism right at our door-step, we have a right to know and be protected.

06-01-2007, 06:16 PM	#11
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	I never said I didn't feel sorry for the guy...according to Yahoo news, he apologized and begged forgiveness from the other passengers. Why was he let on the plane on the first place? I still don't know that answer. In the post-9/11 world, we are entitled to safety as we travel. I still don't think the government and airlines have done a good enough job protecting passengers. We have to be as vigilant and aware and as possible!

06-03-2007, 11:31 PM	#13
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles...00010000000001 TB Patient's Father-in-Law to Be Investigated Microbiologist Studies Tuberculosis at the CDC DENVER (June 3) - A federal microbiologist, the father-in-law of the man quarantined with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis , will be investigated to see how he was involved in the case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. Meanwhile, the CDC said it has withdrawn the federal isolation order for TB patient Andrew Speaker because a Denver health agency's order to detain him at a hospital there is sufficient to protect the public's health. The action ends the first federal quarantine order since 1963. Speaker has said he, his doctors and the CDC all knew he had TB that was resistant to some drugs before he flew to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon last month. Robert Cooksey, whose specialty at the CDC is TB and other bacteria, and who attended his daughter's wedding, has said he provided "fatherly advice" to Speaker about traveling with the illness. Speaker said he was advised at the time by Fulton County, Ga., health authorities that he was not contagious or a danger to anyone. Officials told him they would prefer he didn't fly, but no one ordered him not to, he said. Quarantined TB Patient Talks Speaker was in Europe when he learned tests showed he had not just TB, but an extremely drug-resistant strain known as XDR. Federal health officials said Friday that Cooksey had helped to find Speaker and diagnose his condition. They would not give any more information about the investigation. Despite warnings from federal health officials not to board another long flight, Speaker flew back for treatment, fearing he wouldn't survive if he didn't reach the U.S., he has said. He said he tried to sneak home by way of Canada instead of flying directly into the U.S. He was federally quarantined May 25, a day after he was allowed to pass through the border crossing at Champlain, N.Y. The Denver health authority has ordered that Speaker be detained at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center until tests indicate he is no longer contagious, the CDC said. Speaker settled in Saturday for what could be a two-month hospital stay by taking antibiotics and fielding phone calls. He had breakfast and spent much of the day on the phone with well-wishers, his nurses at National Jewish reported. Accompanied by his new bride, the 31-year-old Georgia attorney also used a laptop to communicate from his second-floor isolation room, equipped with an exercise bicycle and a TV, hospital spokeswoman Geri Reinardy said. Speaker was taking antibiotics to battle a tennis-ball-size infection in his lung, Reinardy said. Doctors said his treatment could include surgery to remove the infected tissue if the drugs don't work. Tests so far indicate Speaker's risk of spreading the infection are low, doctors said. No medical briefings for the news media were planned during the weekend. Doctors hope to determine where Speaker contracted the disease, which has been found around the world and exists in pockets in Russia and Asia. The tuberculosis was discovered when Speaker had a chest X-ray in January for a rib injury. Since 2000, National Jewish has successfully treated two other patients with XDR. Dr. Gwen Huitt said they were under quarantine in their home counties, then placed under quarantine in Denver once they arrived at National Jewish, driven there nonstop by family members. Health officials have contacted 160 of the 292 U.S. citizens who were on the May 12 flight from Atlanta to Paris, according to the CDC. That count includes all 26 who sat in the five rows around Speaker - the ones considered at greatest risk. The CDC initially said there were 310 aboard the flight but reduced the number because of duplicate names.