Drug-resistant TB patient hopscotched across Europe
30 May 2007 23:36:26 GMT Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - A patient with extensive drug-resistant TB, or XDR TB, fled to several cities across Europe to avoid detention. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health authorities in Canada, France and other affected countries are trying to contact people who may have been exposed to the patient. Here are some details of his travels: -- He left Atlanta on May 12 on Air France flight 385/codeshare Delta flight DL8517, arriving in Paris on May 13 -- He flew from Paris to Athens on May 14 on Air France flight 1232 -- On May 16 he flew on Olympic airlines flight 560 from Athens to Santorini, Greece -- On May 21 he flew from Mykonos to Athens and then from Athens to Rome -- On May 24 he flew from Rome to Prague on Czech Air Flight 0727. The same day he flew to Montreal aboard Czech Air Flight 0104 -- He drove from Montreal to New York, where authorities tracked him down. The CDC did not give a date for the trip. -- The CDC says it is very unlikely anyone aboard the shorter flights could have been infected. Only exposure of eight hours or more could have infected anyone, so only those on trans-Atlantic flights are being contacted. -- Information on XDR TB is available at http://www.cdc.gov/tb/xdrtb/
