Local woman with TB hospitalized after flying from India
Associated Press, 12/31/07
Tuberculosis (TB) has once again caught the world’s attention, with news that a local woman flew back to the Bay Area after being diagnosed with the contagious disease in India earlier this month.
About a week after she returned, the woman showed up at Stanford Hospital with advanced symptoms of the disease. She is now in isolation at the hospital where she is receiving treatment. However, after learning that she had flown from New Dehli to San Francisco, with a stop in Chicago, health officials began to search for passengers who may have come in contact with her. While is it not likely that she infected fellow passengers, official are concerned because the woman has a drug-resistant strain of TB, which is much more difficult and expensive to treat.
While TB patients are often barred from flying by U.S. health officials, there is little control over flights originating from abroad - further underscoring the need for a global response to combating TB. Although TB is completely treatable, it remains one of the deadliest diseases in developing countries around the world. And with the pace of globalization continuing to rise, the danger of a TB resurgence remains a viable threat.
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