NY - Plane quarantined at JFK amid reports of sick passengers, 5 Sept, 2018

[dotr]

Plane quarantined at JFK amid reports of sick passengers - CityNews Toronto
Last Updated Sep 5, 2018 at 10:58 am EDT

The New York City mayor’s office says a plane has been quarantined amid reports of numerous ill passengers aboard a flight from Dubai that arrived at New York’s Kennedy Airport.

The Emirates flight landed at about 9:10 a.m. Wednesday.

Video from news helicopters showed the jet sitting on the tarmac surrounded by emergency vehicles and ground control personnel.

 

[dotr]

rbbm
Plane quarantined at JFK airport amid reports of sick passengers
"Shortly before 10:30 a.m., Emirates Airlines said only 10 passengers from Dubai had taken ill.

"Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on board flight EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill," the airline said. "On arrival at JFK, as a precaution, they were immediately checked by local health authorities, and those needing medical attention will be attended to. All other passengers will be disembarking shortly. The safety and care of our customers is always our first priority and will not be compromised."

A government source briefed on situation told CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave there was no evidence of a security or terror issue. Emirates' home office has told U.S. officials it believes this incident was caused by food poisoning.

However, at least one passenger said that people appeared to be sick before even boarding the plane."

 

[FlossyMay]

Every time I see a story like this I think it's the zombie apocalypse. I have to stop watching horror movies.

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
Plane from Dubai quarantined at NYC airport after passengers fall ill | CBC News
"The doubledecker Airbus A380 landed shortly after 9 a.m. ET with about 500 passengers aboard, according to a spokesperson for Emirates airline.

She said 10 passengers had taken ill on the flight and "were immediately checked by local health authorities and those needing medical attention will be attended to," an airline spokesperson said in a statement."

"Eric Phillips, a spokesperson for de Blasio, tweeted that the flight stopped in Mecca, which is experiencing a flu outbreak, and "early indications point to that as a possibility."

A New York Police Department counterterrorism division tweeted it was monitoring what appeared to be a "medical situation."

 

[FlossyMay]

Doesn't the flu have an incubation period? At least 24 hours I would think.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I believe there's been a resurgence of MERS which has got people very worried.

Middle East respiratory syndrome - Wikipedia

 

[Amonet]

Every time I see a story like this I think it's the zombie apocalypse. I have to stop watching horror movies.

It reminds me of a 90s tv series called The Burning Zone.

But I would have thought that a number of people taking ill during a flight would be more likely to be food poisoning?

 

[TennesseeGal]

Plane from Dubai quarantined at NYC airport after passengers fall ill | CBC News

"The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said about 100 people aboard the plane were being evaluated after complaining of illness, including cough and fever."

Oh goodness. 100 people complaining.

 

[FlossyMay]

I don't do much flying because...heights = nope! But am I correct that planes recycle the same air over and over? They can't pull fresh air in from outside, which if I'm right, would make it easier to spread germs.

 

[Amonet]

How long is the flight from Dubai to NY? Surely the incubation period for most communicable diseases would be too long to have 100 people come down with it in the duration of the flight?

Granted that not all 100 might have contracted anything. Some of those 100 might have been coughing from dry air combined with hearing coughing around them. Coughing doesn't sound like a symptom of food poisoning, though.

 

[Amonet]

I don't do much flying because...heights = nope! But am I correct that planes recycle the same air over and over? They can't pull fresh air in from outside, which if I'm right, would make it easier to spread germs.

I've never flown, but I would also imagine that as people walk through the plane, if they go to the toilets and hold onto the backrest of a chair, then there could also be touch communication of some diseases as well as air communication.

 

[JerseyGirl]

The CDC said: "Approximately 100 passengers, including some crew on the flight, complained of illness including cough and some with fever." About 521 people were on board the flight.

A reporter for ABC News tweeted: "The pilot is reporting 2 male passengers with extremely high fevers and approximately 100 passengers 'coughing non-stop.'"

Plane quarantined in New York after about 100 passengers report feeling sick, CDC says

 

[TennesseeGal]

Well I was just thinking that they had just over 500 on the plane so with 100 complaining of not feeling well, that is almost 20%. Knowing how the flu was last year, I would hate to be on that flight if it was that. Or anything else for that matter!

 

[MelmothTheLost]

How long is the flight from Dubai to NY?

About 14 and a half hours.

Surely the incubation period for most communicable diseases would be too long to have 100 people come down with it in the duration of the flight?

It depends on when exactly people started showing symptoms. I think some viruses can go from asympomatic to symptomatic within 14 hours, in other words lots of passengers could have been incubating something when the boarded the flight and then started showing symptoms during it. The fact that the plane stopped at Mecca, which has only just seen the end of the Hajj, is possibly a factor since 2m+ people in close proximity to each other is a perfect environment for stuff to spread.

Granted that not all 100 might have contracted anything. Some of those 100 might have been coughing from dry air combined with hearing coughing around them. Coughing doesn't sound like a symptom of food poisoning, though.

Agreed.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I've never flown, but I would also imagine that as people walk through the plane, if they go to the toilets and hold onto the backrest of a chair, then there could also be touch communication of some diseases as well as air communication.

One issue is that many people will fly despite already having D&V symptoms. I know from reading a particular online forum just how common it is for parents to take toddlers with active D&V or open chicken pox sores onto a holiday flight because they are damned if they're going to miss their holiday.

Consider also that it only takes a few passengers with D&V to make the onboard loos pretty disgusting, thus making them a hazard to others.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Seven crew members and passengers were transported to a Jamaica Hospital in Queens.

Emirates Flight 203 landed in New York Wednesday shortly after 9 a.m. with about 520 people on board. It was a direct flight from Dubai and did not make a stop in Mecca as the New York mayor’s office erroneously reported earlier.

Shortly before 10:30 a.m., Emirates Airlines said only about 10 passengers from Dubai had taken ill. Passengers say the number was in dozens, and the CDC issues a statement that 100 people were sick.

Even well before the flight when we were on line getting on board (in Dubai), there were people that were obviously very sick that should not have been allowed to get on board in the first place,” said a passenger.

Emirates Flight Held At JFK Airport After Several Reported Sick On Board

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I don't do much flying because...heights = nope! But am I correct that planes recycle the same air over and over? They can't pull fresh air in from outside, which if I'm right, would make it easier to spread germs.

Yes, the air is circulated but it is also heavily filtered before being pushed back out into the cabin. I don't know how effective it is, but I suspect that direct infection passenger to passenger is more of an issue than recycled air.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Emirates Flight 203 landed in New York Wednesday shortly after 9 a.m. with about 520 people on board. It was a direct flight from Dubai and did not make a stop in Mecca as the New York mayor’s office erroneously reported earlier.

Thanks for the correction/update. It changes things somewhat. Not sure it helps much though.

 

[Amonet]

About 14 and a half hours.



It depends on when exactly people started showing symptoms. I think some viruses can go from asympomatic to symptomatic within 14 hours, in other words lots of passengers could have been incubating something when the boarded the flight and then started showing symptoms during it. The fact that the plane stopped at Mecca, which has only just seen the end of the Hajj, is possibly a factor since 2m+ people in close proximity to each other is a perfect environment for stuff to spread.



Agreed.

Yes, but if they were incubating it prior to getting on the plane, wouldn't you expect similar but smaller incidents on other planes carrying people back from Hajj?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

"Even well before the flight when we were on line getting on board (in Dubai), there were people that were obviously very sick that should not have been allowed to get on board in the first place,” said a passenger.

Yep, not surprised.