Sometimes the best educated are also the most ignorant!!!

I second that. I have spent over half my life attaining multiple degrees and higher and higher levels of formal education. My father in law never finished high school and has worked his whole life as a large equipment mechanic.

I wish I had half his knowledge and a third of his experience!

It gets even better. When he entered the US from Canada:



http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20070531/465e4840_3ca6_15526200705311960975527

Wow.

I haven't tried digging that hard, but one important question that I have yet to see answered is whether this guy's TB was actually at an infectious stage? You can be infected with TB but it's dormant and no risk to anyone, you can have an active case of TB but you're not infectious, and you can have active TB which is infectious because it's in your lungs. I have yet to see a medical professional say that he was infectious to the people around him.

Maybe I'm reading too much into the lack of details of this story in the press, but a lot of people may be villifying him assuming that he was infectious but maybe he wasn't. I know that the authorities are trying to find the other passengers to test them, but it's not clear if that is simply a precaution "just in case", or if they legitimately think he might have spread it.

For example, he was flown to a hospital in Denver today that has respiratory specialists. The paper says that, among other things, that he's going there for CT and MRI scans to determine "how infectious he is". Sounds like it's possible that he was not infectious or maybe only slightly infectious while he was cavorting through Europe.

In addition, his CDC microbiologist father-in-law made the comment to the press, "Had I known that my daughter was in any risk, I would not allow her to travel." To my mind, then, it sounds like this guy wasn't infectious when he left for Europe because the father-in-law let his daughter go. Either that, or else the son-in-law didn't tell him the true extent of his condition (not a good way to start a relationship with your father-in-law...)

Anyway, just wondering if the press hasn't totally overblown this story into another modern-day equivalent of Typhoid Mary.

By the way, for anyone interested, Mr. Daniels in Arizona is still in quarantine. He did get another hearing recently, but I guess his argument wasn't convincing because he's still in the prisoner ward. I think he did get some of this things back, though, like his telephone.

Great points and thanks for the update on Mr. Daniels. I remember us talking about him before. I'm glad to hear he got some of his things back at least.

national public radio on tuesday spoke to the head of the cdc.

go here to hear the interview:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10518734

cdc did try to contact him when they found out the strain - but he was already gone and traveling - most irresponsible, but he knew he was facing 18 months of "cutting edge" medicine - in quarantine - and a high mortality rate.

cdc tried to get him home - and would have flown him home @ their expense - but it was memorial day weekend. we later find out that he was back in the us on may 24, before the big weekend - the director may have been given bad info.

an interesting interview.

there have been almost 50 of similar tb cases. as we haven't heard much about them - maybe this guy has some really bad stuff. why else the hubbub?

what about the civil liberties vs "national security" aspect of this? i think they were exercising great caution before they locked him up.

I agree with you completely. He thinks himself as perfect for being a lawyer. I just want to punch the guy on the face for putting many people at risk with severe version of TB. His TB is immune with 4 antibiotics. It is very severe case of TB that the CDC must surgically remove the left infected lung.

"...Sometimes the best educated are also the most ignorant!!!..."

And sometimes the more arrogant!!!

"...must surgically remove the left infected lung..."

I suspect that some of his traveling companions would be happy to do it with a rusty razorblade...

"...only slightly infectious ..."

Small comfort if you happen to be the one sitting next to him...