18/05/12, 00:45:51 EDT

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Officials seek airline passengers in new TB scare

iht.com

A Taiwanese man with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis took two flights to reach China last week, prompting a hunt for passengers who traveled with him, officials said.

The 55-year-old man, breaking a travel ban, flew out of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Dragonair Flight 435 to Hong Kong on July 21, accompanied by his wife. The couple then took Dragonair Flight 810 to Nanjing, China, according to a statement from Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control.

Andrew Speaker, a U.S. lawyer, set off international alarms in May when he traveled through Europe while he was incorrectly thought to be infected with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is the most dangerous form and is extremely difficult to treat. He has since been confirmed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, which is less dangerous but still difficult to cure.

The Taiwanese man, who was not identified, also has multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, which is resistant to two major drugs, the Centers for Disease Control said. There are second-line drugs that can treat this form of tuberculosis. The man's wife, 57, has standard tuberculosis, which is more treatable. She is deemed to be infectious.

More than 270 people were on the first flight and more than 120 were on the second, but the authorities were looking for those who sat in the same row as the couple and those who sat in the two rows in front of and behind them.

"They will be sent for checks and if they display symptoms, they will be given medication," said a spokeswoman for Hong Kong's Health Department, adding that Taiwan was also trying to track down passengers.

Tuberculosis is a highly infectious disease that is spread by coughing and sneezing. It kills about 1.6 million people a year. One of every three people in the world is infected with dormant tuberculosis bacteria, but it is only when a person's immunity is low that the tuberculosis bacteria becomes active and symptoms show.

The Centers for Disease Control said that the couple were staying with relatives in Nanjing and that Taiwan had dispatched a medical officer to help them obtain treatment and arrange their journey home.

 Printable Version  | published Jul 26, 2007