'Do not board' list fails three times

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- At least three people with infectious diseases were able to board passenger planes even though their names were on a "do not board" list, U.S. officials said.

The list is separate from the "no-fly" list to screen for terrorists, but its purpose is similar -- to keep those who might pose a threat to travelers from flying -- USA Today reported Friday.

The "do not board" list prevented six of nine people with infectious illnesses from boarding commercial airliners between January 2009 and August.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the infected travelers who slipped by checkers sickened no one and officials said loopholes that let the ill passengers fly have been fixed.

Still, U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, wants more details about the breaches; he wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, seeking details about the effectiveness of the "do not board" list.

Burgess said he's concerned about passengers with contagious, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis getting on a packed flight.

"It shouldn't happen," Burgess, a medical doctor, said of the three failures. "People need to be sure everyone is doing their job so their safety is not compromised."

The "do not board" list was created in June 2007 and contains 32 names. In the three failures of the list this year, the Transportation Safety Administration and the CDC refused to provide details, other than confirming all had tuberculosis.

Nina Marano, the CDC's quarantine branch chief, said the CDC contacted passengers seated near the three tuberculosis patients and determined "no one was sickened."