TB patient ID'd as Atlanta attorney, 31

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

TB patient ID'd as Atlanta attorney, 31

By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago

ATLANTA - The father-in-law of the tuberculosis patient under
the first federal quarantine since 1963 works as a microbiologist
at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory that
studies TB and other bacterial infections.

Bob Cooksey said he gave his 31-year-old son-in-law, attorney
Andrew Speaker, "fatherly advice" when he learned he 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
told The Associated Press. "Had I known that my daughter was
in any risk, I would not allow her to travel."

-snip-

On Thursday, he was flown by a plane registered to Med Air LLC
from Atlanta to Denver, accompanied by his wife and federal
marshals, to be treated at Denver's National Jewish Medical and
Research Center, hospital spokesman William Allstetter said.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/tuberculosis_infection

[Demeter]

1. Let Me Guess--Born Again Republicans?

What is wrong with these supposedly educated people with no common sense or civic duty?

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JoFerret]

84. Oh come on

I don't know the details here - maybe you do. Maybe I could, but I don't. Let's not jump to wild conclusions before the facts. Some odd co-incidences here it's true but until we know more - let's not assume the very worst. Meanwhile - here is a person with a highly contagious and life threatening disease. Let's think public health first and politics second.

[Ediacara]

2. The mindset this fella has, "my rights are being violated!"

Is exactly the same mindset that "libertarians" who oppose open container laws have. Sorry kids, your right to be dangerous ends when it starts to interfere with my right to be safe.

[pitohui]

4. fil should be advising his daughter to file for annulment asap

if you loved your daughter would you want her married to a self-involved diseased creep, regardless of how well-to-do he was?

it's like he's willing to sell his own daughter because this fuckhead is rich

the guy went thru multiple countries spreading the germs to an almost certainly incurable disease, he needs to go away for a long, long, long time

[The Wielding Truth]

5. Did father in law pass it on?

"The father-in-law of the tuberculosis patient under
the first federal quarantine since 1963 works as a microbiologist
at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory that
studies TB and other bacterial infections."

[pitohui]

8. yeah, that's a little odd, isn't it

something's going on, a normal father wouldn't be giving fatherly advice to the dickhead who is putting his daughter at risk of isolation and a cruel death, he'd be getting his daughter some annulment/divorce papers soonest

[snagglepuss]

69. The FIL was present when the Fulton Country Health authorities,

Speaker and his own doctor met to disuss the travel plans. THe FIL knew the guy had TB though he nor anyone else knew at that time it was this deadly strain. I'm shocked that the FIL didn't advise the marriage to be delayed at the very least.

[LisaL]

86. Strange to say the least. Even if they thought it was a regular TB,

it's infectious.
Should they have told the guy not to travel in no uncertain terms?

[MADem]

97. I found his comment about "allowing" his daughter to travel STRANGE

How the hell old is the daughter? Fifteen? Did he sign a waiver to let her marry a thirty one year old guy?

Allow, indeed....

[kestrel91316]

18. These people undoubtedly get frequent testing for TB, since it's an

occupational hazard for them......any work they do with TB cultures/specimens is going to be with a ventilation "hood" at the least, and probably major respiratory protection.

Here's CDC guidelines for handling TB:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/TB/tbtables.htm

Biosafety regarding XDR TB:
http://www.cdc.gov/tb/xdrtb/BiosafetyGuidance_xdrtb.htm

[Purveyor]

32. I just hate coincidences such as these, don't you? eom

[The Wielding Truth]

79. Could he have been a patient before he met the daughter?

[LisaL]

87. No.

[gratuitous]

6. Isn't that nice? He feels fine

Of course, at 31, he's probably got a pretty healthy immune system. Tough shit, I guess, if anyone else on the plane is older, or more prone to tuberculosis, or already has a pulmonary weakness.

And he flew back from Europe because he didn't think he'd survive treatment in such a medically backwards place as . . . Rome.

I don't think criminal charges are in order, but I'd sure think long and hard about them.

[pitohui]

11. i do think criminal charges are in order

if for some reason they can't charge him in the usa, then by all means extradite him back to rome when he's out of isolation and let them see what they can do to him

or to any of the other countries where he exposed innocent unknowing travelers

there's got to be at least one jurisdiction where this selfish piece of shit can be prosecuted

this is bio-terror for no reason at all, spreading germs simply to avoid losing some deposits!

[Mike Daniels]

103. I would think at minimum his actions fall under "wreckless endangerment"

which if it doesn't carry jail time should at least carry one very stiff fine.

[juno jones]

122. Like in Rome?

They could have tried to isolate him there. If that is truly where he discovered..."Oh, major disease, heavens! I must get home..."

[Ediacara]

12. This guy should go to jail

He was told not to fly and did it anyway endangering the lives of possibly thousands of people. He's no different from someone driving drunk or shooting with his eyes closed.

[pitohui]

13. yep EOM

,

[Eurobabe]

28. My first thought exactly, and his plan to elude authorities is sickening

pardon the pun. Lock this jackass up!

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

38. I think the dude's a selfish SOB, personally.

[MADem]

15. If you go to the cache at his website (I couldn't access the site itself)

his FATHER has a military record a mile long. Sonny boy, apparently, is a personal injury mouthpiece who flunked out of the Naval Academy--no military service. That's a GOP clue right there (What, you mean to say...we could end up in WAR?? With SHOOTING? And DANGER??? Ewwwwww, that won't DO at ALL, will it???)

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:cpGx12IB6OoJ:atlantadivorce.poweradvocates.com/about.html+Andrew+Speaker&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

Andrew Speaker is a licensed member of the State Bar of Georgia. He attended the United States Naval Academy and went on to receive his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Georgia as well as his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. After working with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and the Oconee County District Attorney’s office, he chose to go into private practice so that he could represent injured people in personal injury cases. He concentrates his practice in personal injury litigation and family law.

[blondeatlast]

29. As someone stated in a GD thread, he can chase his own ambulance... nt

[DBoon]

33. Not necessarily true

PI plaintiff's attorneys tend to be on the Democratic side.

PI plaintiffs are big supporters of Democrats, which is why the right rants about "trial attorneys" all the time

[MADem]

34. He started out working for the prosecution. But then he went into PI work.

With his daddy. And that surely paid better.

But I put him on the GOP team because he ducked out of the Academy--not because of his line of speciality.

He hit "moment of truth" day at USNA and ran like hell, getting two years of free education off the US government, and then finished up at home. Didn't serve a damn day active, save "acdu for training."

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. Or has an auto-immune disease like me...

that is being trated with drugs that completely incapacitate my immune system.

The fury I feel at this fucker knows no bounds.

[MADem]

7. Wasn't that asshole who went after Dan Rather an Atlanta attorney?

Whatsamattah with dose guys???????

[JoFerret]

90. Perhaps. But only one of them drank mother's milk

And you know what mother's milk leads to.

[terisan]

9. Personal Injury Lawyer Knowingly Puts Others At Risk-Not exactly a Profile in Courage

[EVDebs]

10. Is this him (photo, second from right) ?

http://www.abacrimtrial.com/gallery/2003.shtml

Also, how communicable IS this TB ? Should he have been allowed any discretion in travelling in the first place ???

CDC shares responsibility in this. No good judgment show all around.

[MADem]

16. The school fits... nt

[blondeatlast]

31. Gad--he looks like Rick Santorum. nt

[rox63]

14. Wasn't this guy worried that he'd infect his wife?

What an asshole. x(

(edit to correct typo)

[Igel]

19. Sounds like he didn't have any evidence it was a big deal.

Now, mind you, even with the run-of-the-mill TB I wouldn't go on my honeymoon unless I was well into the course of antibiotics for the stuff.

"The son-in-law 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."

On the other hand, I wonder what his options were in Italy--obviously he'd have to send his wife home alone, but then what? Spend the weeks necessary for treatment in a hospital in Rome? Rent an apartment or long-term motel room?

[snagglepuss]

71. He definitely knew it was a big deal in Rome which is why he

evaded authorities and flew into Montreal. Boo-hoo that he might be inconvenienced in Italy. So what. Hww many countless people has he now unconvenieced? How many people in all those countries now might be inconvenienced by dread? And how many people may not have access to the superior care he is now receiving? The guy should rot in hell. He and his wife I might add are so utterly selfish.

[kestrel91316]

21. Apparently not. He probably thought he knew better than those

stupid doctors.

My money is on him being just another anti-science, pro-self RWer. Maybe a Libertarian.

[TexasLawyer]

17. some more info

TB Patient IDed As Atlanta Attorney Andrew Speaker
31-year-old receiving care in Denver

Last Edited: Thursday, 31 May 2007, 2:22 PM EDT
Created: Thursday, 31 May 2007, 9:58 AM EDT

A man with a rare form of tuberculosis arrived in Denver for treatment. It's believed he is in the center of the photo, next to the man holding up the sheet. (KDVR Image) SideBar

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press Writer


DENVER -- The tuberculosis patient under the first federal quarantine since 1963 is a 31-year-old personal injury attorney who practices law with his father in Atlanta, a federal law enforcement official said Thursday.

<snip>

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3361030&version=11&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.3.1

Also a picture up on Drudge front page.

[spotbird]

20. Strangest thing

ever.

Isn't is more than a little odd that the father-in-law researches this rare disease? This could put the d in dysfunctional family.

[MetaTrope]

24. He probably couldn't get his hands on any anthrax

which is so securely locked up in Fort Detrick.

[displacedtexan]

40. And the bride is from Roswell???

Strange days, indeed.

[snagglepuss]

73. I think that is totally absurd. The guy for the last 6 years travelled

worldwide in places like Vietnam. 2/3 of the world's population live in countries with active TB. Its no mystery how he contracted it. As far as FIL goes, he sounds like an idiot for not insisting that the wedding be delayed.

[LisaL]

83. It's just a very weird coincidence that his FIL does TB research

and the SIL gets TB.
Even if the guy thought he had regular TB he should not have gotten on the plane. Regular TB is just as infectious as multi drug resistant TB.
It's a sad story. The guy is young and sounds like he has 30 % chance to live, but he should not have put others at risk.

[AlCzervik]

22. On M$NBC they just reported that his dad works for the CDC, guess which Department.

[anitar1]

23. This could be from his trip to Vietnam, that is, if he actually

made it. According to a neighbor at the condo, he was going to Vietnam for 5 weeks.Evidently this was before the wedding. Read story.

[Gormy Cuss]

25. Three step solution.

If the facts as presented in the press are accurate, both of these men were irresponsible to the a ridiculous degree.

Step 1: Give "XDR-TB Andrew" the best treatment his money can buy, what money he has left after paying for testing and any needed treatment of the poor schlubs who contract XDR-TB thanks to his wantonness.

Step 2: Disbar him and have him sign a consent agreement that states he will never work in the field of law again.

Step 3: Fire his father-in-law and have him consent to cease working in microbiology.

Beyond that, the courts can decide whether other punishments are necessary. A personal injury lawyer should know better. A microbiologist who works in a TB lab should know better. They're both despicable.

[snagglepuss]

75. Well said. nt

[Kali]

26. How was he diagnosed in the first place?

[LisaL]

68. I am curious about that too.

It is said he has few symptoms. How and why did he suspect he had TB?

[snagglepuss]

76. He had hurt a rib and went to get an xray. The xray showed an

abnormal growth.

[Kali]

96. do you have a link for that?

and welcome to DU:hi:

[snagglepuss]

111. Thanks for the welcome. I heard this info during the press

conference that CNN carried so I don't have a link. The info came from the specialist who is now treating the patient. :hi:

[mitchum]

27. Sounds like he can afford to REIMBURSE the taxpayers the $$$$...

his selfish sociopathic actions have cost us.
What a fucking scumbag.

[snagglepuss]

77. The cost to treat him at will be between 250,000 - $300,000

as per doctor treating him.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Demeter]

36. There Are Certain Minimum Standard Society Expects

from lawyers, microbiologists, etc. This pair violated all of them. If expressing an opinion of these violations (think rape, if you are having troubles with ethics or imagination) is a crime of any type, then maybe there's something to your post. Otherwise, turn the other cheek.

[spotbird]

37. Speaking for myself,

I'm a worrier, so I wouldn't have taken the trip in the first place. However, most people I know would have gone given the nebulous instructions from their physician he was. The guy didn't think he was infectious. Shoot, the future father in law wasn't worried about his daughter, and he studies this germ for a living.

Now, if I were in his position once he found out the nature of the infection, I'd have still done the same thing and traveled back to the States, with one difference. I would have worn a mask on the plane and explained that I'd just had a kidney transplant or something.

Likely, they were told by someone they respected in the TB field (her father?) whom they can't quote, that there was a very, very, small risk of transmission at this point in his illness, and the trip back to the states would likely save his life.

[LisaL]

50. The guy did not think he was infectious? Hello?

Regular TB is just as infections as this multi drug resistant TB.
Even if he thought he had regular TB, he should have known it was infectious.

[Habibi]

85. Quick question:

*Would* a 31-year-old have known it was infectious? Did 31-year-olds get tested for TB the way we did back in the early 70s? (My last recollection of being tested.) And even then, we weren't told much about it.

Is it possible he really didn't understand the risk? (And if not, why not is a scary question.)

[LisaL]

88. Well, if he personally did not understand the risk, he has a FIL

who is researching TB of all things.
One would think his FIL should have explained it to him.

[snagglepuss]

115. He has been treated for the TB since January. When he was in

Italy, the CDC contacted him and begged him not to fly back on a commericial flight until other arrangements could be made. At that point he knew the risk full well which why he snuck back to the US via Montreal.

[peacetalksforall]

39. No blood dripping, but some fact finding. Think about it ...

He knew he had TB when he left.
Means his bride-to-be knew?
Means his CDC father-in-law-to-be knew?

Means he was mentally and physically qualified to understand what he was told about a deadly form of TB while in Europe? If he was told there, why wasn't he told here?

When did his father-in-law find out?

Who was in on the decision to sneak home and go against all advice and policy?
Was the father-in-law involved in the sneak through?

Who of us would know if it's criminal, but he appears to definitely be an abuser.
With the family being co-abusers? Or not?

[pitohui]

47. a rich educated lawyer has his story planned so he can do as he please and you expect us to say fine

i am tired of the elite thinking their desire for rich vacations and expensive weddings in glamor spots trumps every consideration, including national security and the health of others

he had TB, he knew from his doctor and his father-in-law that TB is a serious illness, but he had big plans for a big show wedding and this came first before everything

after being contacted AGAIN, in rome and being told he had the worst form of the disease, that is pretty much untreatable and that most people would lose their entire lifetime of earnings if they had to treat this disease...he then evaded police and customs and traveled through SEVERAL other countries exposing innocent people

he needs to be made an example of

there cannot be one law for the poor and one law for the rich -- the poor man is being kept in indefinite isolation for a much lesser example of the same crime (exposed a few people in a convenience store in arizona) while the rich man freely spread infection across SIX nations

i am tired of one law for the rich and another law for the poor

disease doesn't check your credit rating first, if he had infected me, i would not be able to afford the half a million dollar treatment, i would just have to die, as would you, as would your child, your grandmother, anybody else who had contracted the disease from this fucktard

we MUST have a nation of laws and not men, i am tired of rich fucks walking free for bigger and better crimes than those committed by the poor

and for the record, certainly the poor man in arizona belongs in isolation as well -- as does EVERYONE who won't comply with simple basic instructions to keep from spreading a contagious disease that we can't cure

[Blue_Tires]

91. +1

[MADem]

98. Like it or not, justice in this country is FOR SALE. If you are rich and can afford a good

mouthpiece, you walk free, or in a worst-case scenario you do below the minimum in 'special circumstances' lockups--ask Paris Hilton....

[Nihil]

101. Well said Pitohui! (n/t)

:applause:

[demgurl]

49. I hope these people are reacting because of the facts.

This particular strain of TB has a 30% fatality rate. This means that this man flew many times on an airplane there and back and this strain typically takes about 4 weeks to get to a point where it is mature enough to be identified. The doctor told his patient not to fly but he knew better than someone who gets paid to diagnose and take care of patients for a living.

If this man infected only ten people then chances are 3 of them (remember the 30% fatality rate) will die because he disregarded a doctor's orders and flew. Doctors are in a very fragile position when dealing with possibly contagious patients because on one hand you do not want to take away the patient's liberties but on the other hand you have a responsibility to protect the public.

When the doctors realized what strain of TB this was, they immediately contacted him. He made his own plans to get back to the US even though he should not have gone overseas to begin with. At this point he knows he has something that is infectious and could kill people but he only cares about his own skin and not who else might die. The fact that he tried to get back here because he did not want to die says that he knew that this strain does, indeed, cause fatalities but as long as he survived he did not care. What he did not realize - but would have if he had remained in contact with our CDC officials is that they were not mad but rather worried about how to get him back without risk to others. As he secretly made his way back to the US, they were working on a way to get him a plane so he could fly back in safety. (for himself and others)

At the very least you must see that coming back, when he knew how contagious and dangerous the disease was, showed a reckless and wanton disregard for the safety of others. And if he has infected others and killed 30% of them (or even one of them) then he should not be surprised at the consequences that follow.

Maybe others are not articulating exactly what is so horrendous about this whole incident but if they know the same facts that I do then I hope you understand why so many people are upset that this person would choose to save his own life at the selfish risk of possibly killing others. That is inexcusable.

[pitohui]

70. thanks, demgurl, i wish i was so articulate, you explain it perfectly

all i can do is sputter! you summarize it perfectly!

[demgurl]

120. Thanks, pitohui.

I hope the guy I was replying to now understands why so many people are outraged at this gentleman's selfishness.

[Bridget Burke]

108. One slight correction to your excellent post: CURE rate for XDR-TB is 30%

From the World Health Organization:

Several countries with good TB control programmes have shown that cure is possible for up to 30% of affected people. But successful outcomes also depend greatly on the extent of the drug resistance, the severity of the disease and whether the patient’s immune system is compromised.

www.who.int/tb/xdr/faqs/en/index.html

The article also points out that diagnosing TB takes a day or two, but identifying XDR-TB can take from 6 to 16 weeks. "To reduce the time needed for diagnosis, new tools for rapid TB diagnosis are urgently needed."

I don't understand why the guy didn't get immediate treatment for his TB. Yes, most TB is treatable nowadays--if you've got good medical care. (The disease resistant strains arose because patients lacked money and/or education to complete "standard" treatment.) But TB is still a serious disease.

[demgurl]

121. Thanks for the correction.

I was listening to NPR when I got most of these facts and I guess I transposed the mortality rate with the cure rate. I appreciate being able to relay facts reliably and your correction will help me do that. This fatality rate also makes the man's actions even worse.

[snagglepuss]

116. The fatality rate is 67% not 30%.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18940766/site/newsweek/

[Ian David]

41. I wonder how closely Bob Cooksey and Dr. Hugh H. Tilson are connected?

Bob Cooksey-- Microbiologist at the CDC in Atlanta, father-in-law of the TB Guy
Dr. Hugh H. Tilson-- Bush appointee to the CDC arrested for masturbating in a urinal at the Atlanta Airport

Anyone have access to Lexis?


CDC Adviser Arrested for Urinal Incident

(01-22) 14:53 PST ATLANTA (AP) --

A prominent public health expert who is a top adviser to federal health agencies was arrested on suspicion of public indecency in an airport men's room.

Dr. Hugh H. Tilson, 67, was arrested Jan. 16 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a plainclothes police officer said he saw Tilson masturbating at a urinal while watching other men urinate.

Tilson, a part-time faculty member at the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health, has advised the government and industry on health issues and co-authored an influential 1988 report on the future of public health in the U.S.

Tilson recently co-chaired a task force advising the Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on setting agency priorities and goals. He was visiting Atlanta last week for a senior leadership retreat with CDC Director Julie Gerberding and others.

More:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2007/01/22/national/a141510S46.DTL


Your search - "Hugh Tilson" and "Bob Cooksey" - did not match any
http://www.google.com/search?tab=nw&hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS212US212&q=%22Hugh%20Tilson%22%20and%20%22Bob%20Cooksey%22

Your search - "Hugh Tilson" and "robert Cooksey" - did not match any
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS212US212&q=%22Hugh+Tilson%22+and+%22robert+Cooksey%22&btnG=Search

[MADem]

99. How, uh, confidence inspiring...not. I also find it strange that the TB hospital is in DENVER

Here you are, wheezing and coughing up blood, having a hard time drawing a breath, and they stick ya in the Mile High City???

[bmbmd]

105. Tb

doesn't do as well in a low oxygen environment. Hence its proclivity for the upper lobes.

[MADem]

110. Fascinating...so you're saying that being a mile up is helpful to a cure? NT

[Kali]

42. post about another boosh admin disaster readiness fuck up

over at C & L from Countdown last night

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/31/rachel-maddow-on-tb-scare-weapons-of-mass-infection/


Stewart: "So, in your opinion, what could or should the government have done differently without running afoul of civil right's concerns?"

Maddow: "The first thing the goverment should have done is have a plan. The single scariest thing about this entire response and everything we've learned in the last two days was the statement by the head of the CDC, Julie Gerberding, when she actually said, we just kind of had to make up the plan as we went along."

[snagglepuss]

117. Ding ding ding we have a winner.

Madddow "The first thing the goverment should have done is have a plan." His comments really says it all. I'm dumbfounded that Julie Gerberding said, "we just kind of had to make up the plan as we went along."

[youngdem]

43. Lock this piece of shit up

This prick should have to pay for treatment, prophylaxis and government expense for EVERYONE affected.

Just looking at this prick and hearing what he did, you just KNOW beyond ALL doubt what party he belongs to.

:grr:

[pinto]

44. Apparently he was advised to wear a mask on long flights.

(Local health authorities). Apparently he ignored the advice. (Though he says he wasn't told about a mask). Apparently he has posed very little risk to co-passengers on his flights of under 8 hrs, and a minimal risk for those near him on the trans-Atlantic flights. (CDC).


Med staff at National Jewish appear hopeful:

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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/tuberculosis_infection


more on TB treatment efforts worldwide:

http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/tf5d_e.htm

-----------------------

imho, this was handled as well as possible, given the multiple long term flights, the international travel and the authority limitations of agencies to intervene outside their own jurisdictions.

Should he have made another choice? Definitely. Do passengers on the trans-Atlantic flights have a legitimate concern? Definitely, especially if they have increased susceptibility to TB infection. Should there be legal repercussions? I don't know, but assume it will be followed up in one form or another.

Again, I think highly susceptible co-passengers, in close proximity to the patient have a legitimate issue. I see the CDC has encouraged Mantoux tests for passengers, now and in 6 months or so to allow for possible latency period in detecting infection.

(aside) From a public health perspective, I think this is being overplayed in the media. I really hate to see alarmism trump reason and established risk assessments. It does no one well.

[snagglepuss]

114. I think you are missing an essential point. When he was still in the

US health authorities did not know the strain so the advice that was given was for lack of a better word low key. However when he was located in Italy CDC "begged him" not to fly, he therefore became alarmed so he devised a route to sneak back into the US. The alarmism is due to the fact that people are shocked that someone would so cavalierly disregard the health risk to others.

[Eugene]

45. Updated AP story at link: Border agent allowed TB patient in U.S.

Source: Associated Press

Border agent allowed TB patient in U.S.

By GREG BLUESTEIN and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
31 minutes ago

ATLANTA - 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.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/tuberculosis_infection

[peaches2003]

46. Discretionary???

That fool in charge of HSec needs to be fired tonight and Bush needs to answer questions on what the hell he is doing? And he says we are safer now then ever before. BS. This is truly disgusting, not only that this TB patient put everyone he got near in danger, but more because it shows our border patrol will let anyone in even when they are warned not to! This is a crime. We are no safer now than 5 yrs ago.

[pitohui]

48. it means this rich ass lawyer paid a bribe to the guy, dontcha think? EOM

.

[mhatrw]

67. More likely, this former Naval Academy grad was involved in

something darker, like a test of how infectious XDR-TB would be on a plane, or even a plot to infect someone(s) overseas.

What do you want to bet that we never hear about this unnamed "border agent" or his punishment again?

[pitohui]

72. wow i would be afraid to take that bet

a scary business either way

[Tatiana]

82. I think Sen. Schumer is going to investigate this. n/t

[ecstatic]

80. Something fishy about that... I think this angle was made up, to cover *'s

ass. Make it look as if the system *would have worked* had it not been for a disorderly border agent. Really... What border agent would let someone with a deadly disease through after doing his/her own medical diagnosis? LOL

[mhatrw]

51. TB patient ID'd as Atlanta lawyer

Source: Associated Press

ATLANTA - The honeymooner quarantined with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis was identified Thursday as a 31-year-old Atlanta personal injury lawyer whose new father-in-law is a CDC microbiologist specializing in the spread of TB and other bacteria. Bob Cooksey would not comment on whether he reported his son-in-law, 31-year-old Andrew Speaker, to federal health authorities. He said only that he gave Speaker "fatherly advice" when he learned the young man had contracted the disease. In a statement issued through the CDC, Cooksey also said that neither he nor his CDC laboratory was the source of his son-in-law's TB. The CDC had no immediate comment on how the case came to the attention of federal health authorities. ...

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 was quarantined May 25, after his return from his honeymoon, in the first such action taken by the federal government since 1963. ...

Cooksey has worked at the CDC for 32 years and is in the CDC's Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, where he works with TB and other organisms. He has co-authored papers on diabetes, TB and other infectious diseases. He recently co-authored a report on a bacteria outbreak in bone marrow transplant and oncology patients in a hospital water supply. "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." ...

Dr. Charles Daley, head of infectious disease at National Jewish Hospital, said the hospital has treated two other patients with what appears to be the same strain of TB since 2000. He said the patients had improved enough to be released. "With drug-resistant tuberculosis, it's quite a challenge to treat this," Daley told CNN. "The cure rate that's been reported in other places is very low. It's about 30 percent for XDR-TB. This is a different patient, though. We're told that this is very early in the course, and most of the time when we get patients that it's very extensive and very far advanced. So I think we're more optimistic. We're aiming for cure. We know it's an uphill battle, but we hope to get there."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/tuberculosis_infection_81

---

A lot of interesting coincidences here ...

[onecent]

52. Oh, there is so much more to this story....It just does not add up.

[Daphne08]

53. No, it doesn't. n/t

[Kali]

54. this is a dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2865292

[Debi]

55. Damn lawyers n/t

[durrrty libby]

56. This is very strange

Did the father-in-law try to get rid of this guy, by intentionally infecting him?

[no_hypocrisy]

57. He's gonna need a lawyer if anybody can prove in court that they

have the exact same bacterium that he has and that they caught it from being in proximity to him without warning.

[kestrel91316]

58. Maybe not on the flight from the US to Europe.......but once he knew

how bad the bug was, and didn't do what he was told, that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish. Anybody who caught it from him on the return flight is gonna OWN this guy. My guess is he didn't bother to wear a surgical mask to make SOME effort to protect those around him.......

[Ikonoklast]

59. This selfish dipshit placed hundreds, if not thousands at risk

of getting infected.

What utter scorn for the well-being of every person he came in contact with.

[mhatrw]

61. But he needed to get back to country where they misdiagnosed him

because he felt that otherwise he would die.

Then the CDC immediately quarantined the guy -- the first federally mandated quarantine in over 40 years.

And his father-in-law just happens to work at the CDC's very own Tuberculosis Laboratory where he specializes in the risks factors associated with antibiotic resistant TB.

[barb162]

63. He wasn't misdiagnosed; they just didn't know what strain he had.

[mhatrw]

66. In the case of regular TB vs. XDR-TB, your point is nothing but a

semantical quibble.

[snagglepuss]

74. The CDC did not misdiagnose him. It takes weeks to determine

a particular strain which is why he should have cancelled travel as soon as he found out that he had TB regardless of the strain. This asshat was afraid he was going to die? The CDC begged him in Itlay not to fly back because others could be put at risk. But why should others matter?

[mhatrw]

100. Why was the CDC even involved with this guy's diagnosis?

Does the CDC get called in to do further tests on every US resident who tests positive for TB?

What is the entire TB protocol anyway? What perfectly healthy people get tested for TB? Why?

[Gormy Cuss]

109. The CDC is automatically alerted to a certain set of diagnoses

and often does its own lab work to confirm them. I learned this when a family member had a bizarre systemic infection whose cause was suspected by a local infectious disease specialist but only confirmed after the CDC ran its own tests.

In this case, the CDC may have been sent a sample as soon as the man's own physician recognized it as a resistant TB strain.

[barb162]

64. Any strain of TB and getting on a plane...it's reckless endangerment

IMHO

[PassingFair]

60. Coincidences?

We think NOT!

[Orsino]

62. I want to know whether he's a lifelong Republican...

..or whether his enormous sense of entitlement is a recent character defect.

[juno jones]

65. I keep thinking

That maybe daddy went a little too far in protecting his 'little girl'. Too coincidental. Too weird. Or maybe he is just shitty at laboratory protocol.

Or maybe daddy is involved in something darker, trying to get rid of the rest of us.

Nothing would surprise me anymore.

[ecstatic]

81. But then what about his daughter... Was she injected with a secret vaccine?

They say she doesn't have it... at least, not yet.

[ecstatic]

78. I'm sure its not just plane passengers who were exposed

Someone could be dead right now, or dying, or passing this deadly disease on to loved ones-- but because they don't realize they came into contact with Mr. Andrew Speaker, they may not realize what is happening. That man is scum. If he was Muslim they'd have him in Guantanamo Bay right now.

[JoFerret]

89. What about the snakes?

(We need this debate to be driven by sane public health policy, not typhoid Mary hysteria)

[JoFerret]

94. Snakes on the plane with Typhoid Mary not to mention Patient Zero:

Patient Zero - Gaetan Dugas(am waiting here for some good public health driven information and not public hysteria.)

[Blue_Tires]

92. why would he go on with the wedding?

and why is the FIL not uber-pissed off about the exposure to his daughter on the honeymoon?

[Canuckistanian]

93. Shades of Mary Mallon (aka Typhoid Mary)

Mary Mallon (September 23, 1869 – November 11, 1938), also known as Typhoid Mary, was the first person in the United States to be identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid fever. Over the course of her career as a cook, she infected 47 people, three of whom died from the disease. Her fame is in part due to her vehement denial of her own role in causing the disease, together with her refusal to cease working as a cook. She was forcibly quarantined twice by public health authorities and died in quarantine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon

Ok, so he hasn't actually killed anyone yet. But his refusal to heed warnings are similar.

If this situation isn't corrected, it may lead to many MORE deaths than Typhoid Mary.

[bicentennial_baby]

104. Well a major difference btwn him and Mary is

that Mary was an uneducated immigrant during a time when people in general knew far less about disease and about asymptomatic carriers...He, on the other hand, is a lawyer and the son-in-law of a TB researcher at the CDC. Very different people, very different times.

[jgraz]

95. Here's hoping his fellow passengers sue him back to the fucking stone age

This guy is a seriously irresponsible dick.

[Binka]

112. He's An Unprincipled Narcissist

The lies at the border to convince the agent he should be let in the country sealed the deal for me. This fuck doesn't play by ANY rules but his own. He needs to wake up on the other side of the grass as FAIC.

[Eugene]

102. TB patient: 'I hope they forgive me'

Source: Associated Press

TB patient: 'I hope they forgive me'

34 minutes ago

DENVER - An Atlanta attorney quarantined with a dangerous strain
of tuberculosis apologized to his fellow plane passengers in an
interview aired Friday, and said he was told he wasn't contagious
or a threat to anyone.

"I feel awful," Andrew Speaker said, speaking through a mask with
ABC's "Good Morning America" at his hospital room in Denver. "I've
lived in this state of constant fear and anxiety and exhaustion for
a week now, and to think that someone else is now feeling that,
I wouldn't want anyone to feel that way.

"I don't expect those people to ever forgive me. I just hope they
understand that I truly never meant them any harm."

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070601/ap_on_he_me/tuberculosis_infection

[bmbmd]

106. Forgive-sure.

Forget-never. I love it when PI lawyers get sued.

[Doremus]

107. Random thoughts, unanswered questions:

1. Is Speaker the only person in the US to have this strain of TB?

2. Why is he quarantined and no one else?

3. Was he still considered a flight risk?

4. Speaker's TB was diagnosed in January. Why does it take 5 months to identify the strain?

5. Speaker undoubtedly came into contact with MANY more people in those 5 months than on his honeymoon. What efforts are being made to locate and test those people?

6. If this is the best our public health and homeland security agencies are capable of, we are indeed screwn.

[snagglepuss]

113. I heard a news report state that about 49 people in the US died in the last ten

years from this strain. Its uncommon in the US but not that uncommon in other parts of the world. In regard to #2 his family members were tested and were negative. Those other questions I too have wodered about. IMHO the coverage on this story has been very poor in terms of answering questions like you have raised.

[Danmel]

118. This makes me crazy

They just let this guy fly all over the place, but because I have a prosthetic, every time I fly, I get pulled aside, searched and dusted for explosives. (I kid you not). I am a 5 ft, 120 pound 47 year old woman, traveling with my husband and 2 kids and I always get the "you could be packing a bomb in that leg" shit. It is moronic beyond all measure.

But TB boy- can fly anywhere. Did I miss the short one legged Jewish woman terrorist attack????????

[mhatrw]

119. Big Data Dump On This Strange Case Answers Many Questions

See: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=222x20936