12 replies to this topic

[TTHQ Staff]

i'M SORRY, BUT WHAT A CRUEL, EVIL THING TO DO TO YOUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS. I AM SO DISGUSTED THAT I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO TAJKE THE ALL CAPS BUTTON OFF EVEN THOUGH I REALLY DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

ok, better now.

This is willfull endangerment. He could be responsioble for killing hundreds of innocents and spreading a communicable disease throughout Europe and the Americas. This man is more than sick. He is a pathetic example of a human being.

What was the in-flight movie.... Outbreak?

By Anita Manning, USA TODAY

U.S. health officials said Tuesday that they have issued a rare federal order of isolation to detain a Georgia man diagnosed with a highly drug-resistant form of tuberculosis after he flew on international flights to Paris and Montreal, potentially infecting fellow travelers.

The unidentified patient had been undergoing TB treatment at an Atlanta clinic. Doctors told him not to travel, but he chose to do so for unspecified "compelling reasons," said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He may have known when he left the USA that he was infected with a dangerous form of the bacteria known as extensively drug-resistant TB, or XDR-TB, Gerberding said, but was confirmed of that while in Europe.

A CDC quarantine officer placed the man in a hotel in Italy, the CDC's Martin Cetron said, and "advised him he should not get on a commercial flight. He needed to stay put." But instead, he traveled to Prague and boarded a flight to Montreal, then drove into the USA.

He went voluntarily to a hospital in New York and then was flown back to Atlanta, where he remains hospitalized in isolation.

A patient with XDR-TB has been isolated in a Phoenix hospital since last July under a court order obtained by county health officials because he refused to take his medications and wear a mask in public.

Gerberding said CDC officials believe this is the first time a federal isolation order, authorized because the patient crossed state and international borders, has been issued since 1963, when a patient potentially exposed to smallpox was placed under quarantine.

Tests suggest the XDR-TB patient is not highly infectious, Gerberding said, but the seriousness of the disease warrants warning passengers.

XDR-TB is caused by strains of the bacteria that can't be wiped out by the two most powerful anti-TB drugs or some of the second-tier drugs available. Like all TB, it spreads through the air when people with active infections cough, sneeze or even talk.

Airline and health officials are contacting crew and passengers who may have been exposed. The man flew on May 12 from Atlanta to Paris on Air France Flight 385, and from Prague to Montreal on May 24 on Czech Air Flight 0104.

The CDC says there were 49 reported cases of XDR-TB in the USA from 1993 to 2006.

[calmcookie]

While I understand your concern and agree that this was a foolish thing to do. PLEASE REMEMBER that if your immune system is properly cared for (via sensible nutrition, adequate sleep, MILD (not strenuous) regular exercise and stress management) ... then you are VERY UNLIKELY to catch TB or any other communicable disease. I have worked, in close proximity, with TB patients and many other "highly infectious" hospital patients, for over 20 years, but have never become sick. I've not missed a day of work in over 10 years and am healthier now, in my 50's, than I was in my 20's .... because I finally understand a few basic concepts. Concepts that can literally save your life, but that most people are oblivious to. Yet they are incredibly simple. Most people think that they are just "victims" of illness, but there is so much you can do to protect yourself. Germs, bacteria, viruses and other pathogenic microorganisms are close to us, literally ON our skin and INSIDE OF US (in our gut) ... AT ALL TIMES. The reason one person gets disease symptoms and another does not has to do with one thing - the strength of their immune system. So much more I could say ... but that's enough for now. Vital and long life to all, C.C.

Edited by calmcookie, 30 May 2007 - 11:21 AM.

[bearish04]

Hi CC- I wanted your advice on your comment about your being more healthy now then in your 20s. I am a shade below 40- vegetarian and very careful of my diet - no colas - no drinks - no smoking- no fried food. Yet i have suddenly been falling sick over and over again. Accupuncture has helped a fair deal but my stomach problems & all kinds of other problems (generay speaking) keep recurring. Could you share with us the recipe to your great health?? Cheers B04

[calmcookie]

Hi Bearish04,

Can I ask why you follow a vegetarian way of eating? It's possible to be healthy on a vegetarian diet, BUT it is regrettably, more difficult ... and so few people understand WHY. I refer to these people as "emotional vegetarians." It sounds healthy, so they do it.

Remember that your immune system depends on QUALITY PROTIENS that are easily absorbed. As we age, dietary protien becomes more and more difficult to absorb. Hard Tofu, protein powders, fish and egg whites are easily absorbed, quality proteins, but things like beans and other common vegetarian sources of amino acids, are not. This is due to the high fibre content that also comes with the high carb count.

Unfortunately, there are some appalling animal cruelty issues around meat processing ... as well as problems with antibiotics and contamination ... so I understand the concerns ... still, most humans are healthier if they eat at least small amounts of animal protein. The KEY lies in consuming the right balance of macronutrients (Protein, carbohydrate and Fat). The specific ratio is important to our well being ... but there are ways to be relaxed about the whole food "game" ... no sense obsessing over any of this. Just learn a few simple concepts and how to eyeball macronutrient portions.

Our immune system depends on essential amino acids (proteins) and essential fats (the good fats) and they also need SLOWLY ABSORBED carbohydrates. Regular consumption of dark, leafy greens also plays a specific role in bolstering your immunity. So much more I could say ... could even write a book about all this :-)

If you're interested, look at "Feed Your Need" on amazon.

Best to all, C.C.

Edited by calmcookie, 30 May 2007 - 01:11 PM.

[Rogerdodger]

As I understand it, this type of TB puts health care workers at the highest risk.

[bearish04]

Hi CC, Been a veggie since birth, actually now i am a vegan (dairy doesnt suit me). Its an Indian religious thing- being veggie. Anyway, I cant change that. Have ordered the book and thanks for the advice. Cheers B

[calmcookie]

Hi CC,
Been a veggie since birth, actually now i am a vegan (dairy doesnt suit me). Its an Indian religious thing- being veggie. Anyway, I cant change that. Have ordered the book and thanks for the advice.

Cheers
B

I understand. As mentioned, I think it's possible to be healthy, as a vegetarian ... just think it's more difficult. I'd still encourage you to be aware of your macronutrient content and how it affects your immune system. A good book for vegetarians is "The Vegetarian Zone" by biochemist, Dr. Barry Sears. His work has been endorsed by Dr. Walter Willett (PhD and Dean of Public Health at Harvard Medical School - also by 80 year old Nutrition professor, Dr. Bob Bruce, from University of Toronto). I went to hear Dr. Sears speak, in Toronto and was impressed by his sincerity and scientific logic. There are many others who also support his point of view, including bariatric specialists, Dr. Mary and Micheal Dan Eades (both MD'S).

Good luck, C.C.

[maineman]

Cookie said:

"The reason one person gets disease symptoms and another does not has to do with one thing - the strength of their immune system."

Would you be willing to tell us where this information comes from? I am unable to find reference to this in the medical literature. Has this been studied or is this testimonial information, like "I feel good, so what I do must be correct?"

Also, would you be willing to expand your explanation of "immune system"? What, exactly, do you mean by that?

Thanks for your help.

mm

[TTHQ Staff]

Regardless of diet, this isn't about diet. this is about a self-centered 31 year old laywer willing to put other people AT RISK OF SERIOUS ILLNESS OR EVEN DEATH.

Health officials in North America and Europe are trying to track down about 80 passengers who sat near him on the two trans-Atlantic flights, and they want passenger lists from four shorter flights he took while in Europe. Patients on the shorter flights are not expected to be as much at risk, health officials said.

If I were one of the passengers and I got incurble TB, you bet I'd sue Mr. Andrew Harley Speaker (Of the The Speaker Law Firm in Atlanta) for reckless endangerment. There's a reason they're looking for those 80 and that's because there is a CHANCE that some of them may have been infected. If there was no cause for concern, they wouldn't be looking. And I don't give a darn whether or not they are vegetarians, they are all potential victim's of this one man's disregard for human life.

Dr. Charles Daley, head of the infectious disease division at National Jewish Hospital, said "With drug-resistant tuberculosis, it's quite a challenge to treat this," Daley told CNN on Thursday. "The cure rate that's been reported in other places is very low. It's about 30 percent for XDR-TB."

Regardless, it was still a shock to realize that someone who pretends to be a good citizen is so readily willing to put others at risk simply for his own amusement.

What a malicious jerk. Andrew Harley Speaker

[Rogerdodger]

What do you call a Lawyer up to his neck in sand? Not enough sand. or A good start. We have a law here in Oklahoma that all lawyers should be buried 8 feet deep. Because deep down, they're really good. I just wonder: Is that dead or alive? Att-choo!