Ill passengers on Continental flight prompt CDC inquiry

A group of sick passengers aboard a Continental Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Newark today prompted an investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The passengers, part of a larger group of 80 on Continental Flight 98, ultimately were cleared by health officials to enter the country, agency spokesman Curtis Allen said.

Houston-based Continental said in a prepared statement that the crew noticed that several passengers appeared ill during the flight, which is why U.S. health authorities were notified.

The symptoms were consistent with seasonal influenza, Allen said. Some were already ill when they boarded the flight but more became sick in flight, he said.

The group that included the sick passengers was from Montreal, Quebec, and was headed back there after a river cruise in Asia, Continental said.

A total of 272 passengers were on the flight, which arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport about 2 p.m. Monday.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, originated in Asia in 2002 and was spread, in part, by airline passengers. Thousands of people were affected and hundreds of deaths were reported before the outbreak abated.

source:www.chron.com