Contagious-Illness Scare at LAX was False Alarm


Ari B. Bloomekatz | | Monday, November 24, 2008


LOS ANGELES -- More than 300 passengers arriving from Japan on Sunday were held on board the jumbo jet at Los Angeles International Airport for a short time while paramedics determined that a passenger did not have a contagious illness.

United Airlines Flight 890 informed ground crews shortly before touching down at 8:30 a.m. that a 28-year-old man aboard the aircraft was sick and might have some sort of virus, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Cecil Manresa.

Los Angeles city paramedics and personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the Boeing 747 after it landed. It took about 20 minutes to determine that the passenger was not contagious, Manresa said.

"He had some kind of stomach ailment or food poisoning issue, and it was not a virus [or] an infectious disease," he said.

Manresa said city paramedics, not the CDC, generally respond when airline passengers are ill. The man may have told the airplane's crew something that made them think his condition was more dangerous, he said.




Connect: Have a thought or feedback about this? Add your comment now
Related Topics: PPE and Infection Control

What's Your Take? Comment Now ...

Featured Careers & Jobs in EMS


Get JEMS in Your Inbox

 

Fire EMS Blogs


Blogger Browser

 

EMS Airway Clinic

Innovation & Progress

Follow in the footsteps of these inspirational leaders of EMS.
More >

Multimedia Thumb

60 Hospitalized After Connecticut Commuter Trains Collide

Five people have critical injuries in derailment outside of Fairfield.
Watch It >


Multimedia Thumb

EMT Student, Pediatrician Save Hit & Run Victim in New Jersey

EMT student helped accident victim while awaiting emergency responders.
Watch It >


Multimedia Thumb

Georgia Teen Seeks EMT Who Helped Save Her 13 Years Ago

Teen wants to thank hero EMT after 13 years.
Watch It >


Multimedia Thumb

Exodus of Paramedics Cause D.C. Staffing Concerns

53 have left since Kenneth Ellerbe became chief in 2011.
Watch It >


Multimedia Thumb

Connecticut Commuter Trains Collide

Five people have critical injuries in derailment outside of Fairfield.
More >


Multimedia Thumb

Photos from RETTMobil: German Boxer

Photos of the German Boxer armored ambulance on display at RETTmobil.
More >


Multimedia Thumb

Photos from RETTmobil: Ambulances on the Show Floor

A.J. Heightman takes you on a tour of the RETTmobil show floor.
More >


Multimedia Thumb

The AmbuBus®, Bus Stretcher Conversion Kit - EMS Today 2013

AmbuBus®, Bus Stretcher all-hazards preparedness & response tool
Watch It >


Multimedia Thumb

LMA MAD Nasal™

Needle-free intranasal drug delivery.
Watch It >


Multimedia Thumb

VividTrac offered by Vivid Medical - EMS Today 2013

VividTrac, affordable high performance video intubation device.
Watch It >


Multimedia Thumb

Braun Ambulances' EZ Door Forward

Helps to create a safer ambulance module.
Watch It >


More Product Videos >