What Do you Think?


This is an article about a man who, because he had a particular virulant strain of TB, was tricked into Federal quarantine. He felt this was totally unnecessary and that he would've gladly gone into isolation had they asked him.

Yes, but what Mr. Speaker doesn't realize is this isn't always the attitude of people who may put others in danger. There are many people out there who have a disregard for the safety of other people. We can see this with drug addicts who drive, alcoholics who drive, people with suspended licenses who continue to drive, etc. I personally think what the CDC policy did was in the best interest of the public. Here is a portion of the article:

TB Patient Questions CDC Policy
Atlanta Attorney Speaking Out From Isolation

POSTED: 6:58 am PDT July 7, 2007
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ATLANTA -- The globe-trotting tuberculosis patient who sparked an international public health incident in May said Friday he was tricked into a federal quarantine.

Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old Atlanta attorney, he would have gladly gone into isolation if health officials had asked him to. Instead, he said they asked him to swing by a New York City hospital for testing after his European vacation, then posted armed guards outside his door.

"They tried to trick me when it was unnecessary," Speaker said, said in a telephone interview from a Colorado hospital where he has been under treatment for a month.
Click here to find out more!

Speaker, the first person quarantined by the U.S. government since 1963, disclosed new details about the discussions he had with health officials while in Europe, and about an aborted plan in which he would have driven to Denver for treatment after he returned.

He said he has no current plans to sue health officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or other government agencies.

"I'm worried about people coming after me," he said in a lengthy interview with The Associated Press.

[You may read the rest of the article at the following link]

http://www.kptv.com/health/13638999/detail.html

It really doesn't matter.


The CDC has all the power when it comes to health issues...they can evade the law if they want. One man with TB can cause someone else to get it which would exponentially cause thousands of others to retain the resistant strain of it. He can't sue and he shouldn't be angry....


And yes..they can evade the law. Why? Because the CDC in Atlanta isn't the only one..they aren't a US organization they're more like a UN organization but not even that.

I think that travelling and exposing others to a possibly deadly illness when the CDC. told him not to was disrespectful to every human being he came into contact with and a criminal act! And now the passengers are sueing him, And i hope they win! Had he just done what he was ordered to in the first place he could be home with his wife and not looking at being charged or sued, and he wouldn,t be dispised by people for endangering them,his life would have gone on normally. He brought all this down on himself and there is no one else to blame!

Yes, I had heard that his doctor advised him not to take the trip; and this is what makes me upset -the lack of concern for others' wellbeing. I agree, SWTP, I hope the people who are suing him win, and I hope he gets everything he deserves coming.

Okay this may sound crazy cuz I gues it is...

I've had contact lately with the CDC and not really happy about it.

Across the street from my house is a 70 acre field...we have fox, raccoon, field mice, deer and even last week a black bear was spotted (I posted about that in another thread). Anyway, I'm 11 miles rom the White House but I feel like I'm in Colorado or something .

About a month ago, my son was out front playing with some blocks of wood. He came running and screaming and dove onto my bed with an incredible look of fear. He made so much noise that my daughter came out of her room (which in itself is a miracle lol). Anyway, he said some odd creature tried to climb up his back.

My daughter (oh brave and tough one) said I'll go check it out...she was like there's NOTHING...AHHHHHHHHHH...and she too comes running scared as well.

I'm like okay, what drama do we have for today?? My daughter, in her fearful state left the front door wide open so as I exited my room I looked down to see an adult ferret. LMAO. I was laughing so hard. I was like you guys it's JUST a ferret. I have friends who have them as pets so I had no fear.

I reached down to pick the ferret up and damn thing bit the HELL out of my hand (at my thumb joint) bled like a pig and it was DEEP. Still trying to be friends I gave it some food and called my husband. This thing was soooooo cute; I named it; my name is not really appropriate. It was "lil' f-ker".

I called my husband and he flipped out (nothing new; he's prone to doing that) and said I should contain the animal. LMAO. So, I walked back inside where the drama was and the lil f-cker proceeded to charge me and bite both of my feet (hee hee I looked like I doing a tribal dance or something) leaving me with another 6 puncture wounds. Eeeeek.

I looked at my thumb. It had swollen 3 times it's normal size and was purple!! I couldn't move my joint in my thumb and could feel it moving towards my finger joints.

So, ultimately, my doctor told me to go to the ER and get interveinious IV of antibiotics. I got freakin "Cat Scratch Fever" from a wild ferret. (yes, it ended up being wild). My wrist was next and then my elbow. Gave me a whole new meaning to the song. LOL. Then I had to take oral antibiotics and get a tetnus shot (those kinda hurt too).

In essense, lil f-cker was quaruntined for 10 days to be checked for rabies. Within that 10 days he chomped on someone else in the vet's office...therefore getting an additional 10 day quarentine.

Rabies in human's can lie dormant for 30 to 60 days. Hmmmm, since the animal was contained I did not start the rabies series because the animal was contained. Thank God!

Did you know, to check lil f-cker for rabies they'd have to cut off his head? OMG, I was devistated. Anyway (my husband DOES NOT know I did this but) I called the place and said leave him in quarentine. I'd never forgive myself if he got his little head cut off for nothing.

Now my husband's pissed with the CDC...oops. My bad. Jody

Yeah, those are mean little critters; I can't understand why someone would have them as pets. I went to a pet store about a year ago and they had a little pen with about 8 little ferrets scampering around. When I reached in to pet one of them, he bit me, and after I took my hand out whenever I would set it down it would try to come over to where my hand was to try to bite me again. Sheesh! I'd rather have a dog or a rat.

Jody, let's say it was recommended that you be quarantined for 10 days or more because of your interaction with the ferret, would you have just gone home and resumed your daily duties or cooperated and went into isolation?

Given your caring disposition, I would imagine you'd cooperate fully with the CDC as not to cause potential harm to other people.

Unfortuntaly, the source article has been pulled from the link above.

Did it say whether he'd been diagnosed with having active TB? If not, they had no reason to quarrentine him. There is both active and inactive TB, inactive isn't contagious.

Spreading TB can be difficult, although it is "aerosol" transmitted.. basically you have to come into contact with someone's saliva or blood. So, someone sneezing can be a way to contract TB. However that being said... it's VERY rare that you would get TB on a plane or from casual contact with a stranger who had active TB. Typically, you'd contract it over a period of time through maybe a family member or a co-worker or someone else you had daily contact with.

There is a TB vaccine that is available, but they don't give it as a routine vaccination in the USA. They do in a lot of other countries though. I have a friend from Australia who was immunized against TB... when it came time to get his citizenship in the USA, he had to have a health exam. Even though he didn't have TB, the exam showed that he had TB. The test showed positive due to the immunization he got as a kid--it obviously turned out to be inactive. He darn near didn't get his citizenship. He had to track down his childhood doctor back in Syndey and have all his medical records notorized and sent back to the INS to prove that he was innoculated and not potentially sick with TB.

My sister in law actually got TB about 8 years ago. The whole immediate family had to be treated sick or not. She sure was sick and weak for several months though. It's a terrible but treatable disease if you live in the western world. The docs didn't even bother treating me because I'd only seen her once during the time she was active.