The Centers for Disease Control’s Central Disease Command Center yesterday asked the seven passengers who were on board the same flight as the second confirmed swine flu patient in Hong Kong to contact the center for testing.
The center’s spokesperson Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said the infected Hong Kong passenger left for the US on April 29 and arrived in San Francisco on May 2. The patient then left Las Vegas on May 5 and returned to San Francisco on Sunday, where he was scheduled to return to Hong Kong.
The flight was identified as Cathay Pacific Airlines CX879, Shih said. The patient started to show flu symptoms on May 6 and was detained by Hong Kong inspection and quarantine officers at the airport when he arrived on Monday.
Those sitting near the infected passenger — three rows ahead and three rows behind — were required to take preventive medication.
Shih said seven passengers who boarded CX879 and arrived in Hong Kong on Monday had entered Taiwan this week. It was confirmed that none of the passengers sat close to the infected passenger, Shih said. Shih said the center had to yet to decide whether these seven passengers should be inspected or be asked to take preventive medication. Nonetheless, the center wanted the seven passengers to contact them immediately.
Shih also advised the public to avoid visiting the West Coast of the US as the flu outbreak there is now widespread.
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