Jan 12, 2010 11:39 pm US/Eastern
Sick Man On 'Do Not Board' List Flies From Philly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
The Centers for Disease Control said a passenger with tuberculosis has been detained after boarding a flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco despite being on a "do-not-board" list.
CDC officials said the passenger was detained and taken to a local hospital after a U.S. Airways flight arrived in San Francisco Saturday night.
The unidentified male passenger was apparently placed on a do-not-board list submitted to the TSA and CDC on January 8, 2010.
Investigators are trying to determine how the noticeably ill man made it through security checkpoints and onto the flight.
Travelers at Philadelphia International Airport want to know how a man who was on the "no-board-list" was able to clear security and get on the plane.
CDC officials said the risk to other passengers aboard the plane with the man for the six-and-a-half-hour flight was low, because the flight was less than eight hours.
The airline told Eyewitness News it is up to the TSA to enforce the "no board list," but a TSA spokesperson says it is the airlines' responsibility.
TSA released the following statement about the incident: "We are just a conduit. We receive information and provide it to the airlines. All proper protocols were followed."
The CDC and the airlines emphasized passengers faced little or no risk.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially deadly infectious disease that typically affects the lung, but can attack the rest of the body. It was once the leading cause of death in the U.S.
Symptoms include a cough, sometimes with blood, that lasts more than three weeks, chest pains, chills and fever.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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