Passengers Quarantined Over Smallpox Fear

Flight Detained After Man Claimed He Had Deadly Disease Which Was Eradicated A Quarter Century Ago

(CBS/AP)  Authorities quarantined an arriving US Airways flight for several hours Friday at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after a passenger claimed he had smallpox, an airline spokesman said.

Health officials quarantined the Airbus A319 carrying 112 passengers and four crew members coming in from New Orleans, US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said.

Durrant said he could not confirm a TV report that the passenger was intoxicated.

Scott White, a spokesman at Carolinas Medical Center, said the man does not have the disease, which was eradicated in 1980.

"There's no evidence of smallpox," said Rick Christenbury, spokesman for Mecklenburg County Health Department.

One passenger told CBS affiliate WBTV correspondent Tom Roussey that an announcement on board the plane said, "'Sit down, there's an emergency security threat.' And I fly all the time, that's the first time I heard that, so it was pretty scary."

Passengers said communication was not very good but the flight crew kept passengers calm, though the extended delay caused many to miss connecting flights.

The plane landed around 3:30 p.m. and was cleared around 7 p.m., when officials confirmed the threat was false.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police spokeswoman Julie Hill said no decision had been made on whether to charge the man, whose condition was still being evaluated Friday night. She said the matter may be up to federal authorities.

[vancouverboo]

Since smallpox was eradicated in 1980 he obviously couldn't have it. So what is the story here?

[tucson23]

The story here is that we've become so paranoid that anyone can say anything and be instantly and completely taken seriously, even if he's drunk. This is just one example of how the terrorists have already won significant victories in this "war." They wanted us to make our own lives worse, and curtail our freedoms, and we've done just that. We are beating ourselves in the War on Terror, and Republicans and soccer-moms are leading the way to our destruction as a culture.

[canaima]

Actually, tuscon32, I think this could have happened 10 years ago & the reaction would've been the same - the quaranteening of the passengers until the statement was checked.

This has NOthing to do with today's terrorism threats, but EVERYthing to do with the virulence and the threat of smallbox.

[nothappyatall]

but EVERYthing to do with the virulence and the threat of smallbox.
Posted by Canaima

It was ERADICATED In 1980, do you know what that word MEANS?

[galaxiana]

Yeah, Newster, ERADICATED means that the Smallpox virus exists only in laboratories and virii research facilities, where any terrorist could still potentially get hold of it and cause widespread infection, especially since we don't vaccinate for it anymore.

ERADICATED does NOT mean that the virus doesn't exist any more, it just means people no longer get infected through the previously-known vectors.

[walt1944-2009]

Part of the price of opening your borders to "free trade" with the rest of the world, is that sicknesses that the rest of the world has are going to make their way into your world. For decades it was thought tuberculosis was eradicated and all the special hospitals and sanitoriums were torn down and sold to greedy developers. Well, with all the illegal immigrants getting into this country, they are bringing their diseases along with them so that TB is back and on the rise here. So why can't something like smallpox end up back here again?

[zootallures2]

I'm a Tom Green milker, so I've had cowpox, goatpox, elephantpox, catpot, horsepox, camelpox, lionpox, foxpox, and ...nevermind.

Do you have copyrights from CNN for that plane?

[mo005]

hissteps4u: Thank you. I read tucson23's message and was somewhat intrigued till he blamed it on repub's and soccer moms( Dont know where that one came from). Thats when I saw yours, you said it all for me. Terrorists are hoping our own fears will do the job. We just dont need any help from fellow americans in that process. If this guy thats stated he had smallpox is and was lying for attention, he should be charged as a terrorist. My opinion is that If I were gonna pull a stunt like that with a disease, I wouldnt have said anything to anyone. This in turn makes this guy a nut in my book.

[bildooreilly]

I stopped flying after they started turning airports into gestapo checkpoints. When they start herding up the masses and gassing people they'll use airports this time instead of trains.

[bildooreilly]

oh btw, go watch 911 octopus on http://video.google.com just go do a search for it there, you'll find out that no planes actually hit the WTC on 9-11, what you saw on television were computer animations. These imaginary planes shown in news footage melt right into the buildings, on the news footage they've shown of the planes hitting, there are planes missing wings, and nosecones, flying into the building, they didn't even do a good job of faking it. Then they had a bunch of fake "eyewitnesses" also shown on this movie, wearing fake mustaches, trying to use fake accents etc telling you planes hit those buildings. They took the CIA's trauma based mind control methods perfected in programs such as MKULTRA and PROJECT MONARCH and used them on our country and most of the world, first they traumatize, then they program you. Which is precisely what they did. Time to wake up people.

[intn1]

bildooreilly, People like you **** me off.

[bildooreilly]

I hope I do **** you off, but I also hope I make you think about things and go do a little research of your own, people in denial don't want to hear the truth, I'm going to tell it to you whether you like it or not. Fact is I think you already know the truth, you just don't want to admit it, you want to keep on living in your little fantasy land, where our government is "here to help you" and those big corporations really "care about you" you're in for a rude awakening my friend and you're going to be thanking me someday....

----------------------
bildooreilly, People like you **** me off.
Posted by intn1 at 08:15 PM : Mar 24, 2007

[ander241]

Buildooreily, what you see is different in all those 911 Octypus videos. Depends on whose cut version is used. Yes, they are amateurs taking those films. So, mistakes in editing were made. My son is a special effects master and has seen these and they are not CGI. Yes, I agree that Bush reiterated the same scare tactic words and does today. The Patriot Act was the fist step in taking away our Civil Rights. He continues with the "War On Terror" act of his, lunatic that he is. Creating a scare in people is the way he is controlling most. Total deception...except the videos were only edited quickly by various channels. Notice the different effects in the various 911 Octypus. the rest if mind control and Bush appears to be very good at it. A sick, stupid man!

[jdweymouth]

Many people, including physicians and other scientists, believe that no disease is eradicated completely, and could always come back to haunt us. "Smallpox doesn't exist anymore" is just the popular line, but it is far from true. A disease can only be dormant: not extinct.

[intn1]

hope I do **** you off, but I also hope I make you think about things and go do a little research of your own, people in denial don't want to hear the truth, I'm going to tell it to you whether you like it or not. Fact is I think you already know the truth, you just don't want to admit it, you want to keep on living in your little fantasy land, where our government is "here to help you" and those big corporations really "care about you" you're in for a rude awakening my friend and you're going to be thanking me someday....

I know that the government is in bad shape and I know better than to think large corporations care about people. The love of money is the root of all evil, and that is precisley what has happened in this country today. What pisses me off is that you believe just any old video off the internet and try to pass it off as the truth. Honestly, and i'm not being a smartass, but are you trained in looking at film and detecting just what is fake and what is not? And if you say that planes didn't hit the WTC, then what exactly happened?

[tunamelt6]

you will be very surprised when you find out who was quarantined.