2007 Tuberculosis Scare

The 2007 tuberculosis scare occurred when Atlanta personal-injury lawyer Andrew "Drew" Speaker flew from Atlanta, Georgia to Paris, France and on to Greece and then Italy before returning on a flight from Prague, Czech Republic to Montreal, Canada, where he crossed over the border and back into the United States while infected with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believed at the time that Speaker was suffering from extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). The incident sparked a debate in Congress on the failure of federal customs agents to stop him. Upon Speaker's return to the United States, the CDC placed him under involuntary isolation (similar to quarantine) using a provision of the Public Health Service Act. With this action, Speaker became the first individual subjected to a CDC isolation order since 1963.

Read more about 2007 Tuberculosis Scare:  Background, Travel Sequence, Flight Itinerary, Tuberculosis Case Notes, New Diagnosis, Isolation and Law

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