DETROIT, March 16 (UPI) -- Health authorities are looking for 17 passengers from a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit they say may have had contact with a tuberculosis-infected man.
The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta confirmed Sunday that a man carrying the disease traveled from Frankfurt, Germany, to Detroit a week ago, The Detroit News reported Monday. The man was detained at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after customs officials noticed he showed signs of the disease. He was admitted to a Detroit-area hospital.
As a precaution, CDC officials are trying to contact 17 people who were seated near the man on the plane, spokeswoman Shelly Diaz said.
"The patient is still receiving care," Diaz said to the newspaper. "The threat to the public is low. This is a cautionary measure."
Northwest spokeswoman Leslie Parker told the News, "Northwest has been proactively working with (health officials) to contact passengers who may be at risk. The health and safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance."
