Airplane Quarantine At Midway Airport Turned Out To Be Bug Bites
By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 27, 2012 2:30PM
Lise Sievers of Red Wing, Minn. (Family photo, via Chicago Tribune)
The passenger at the center of the quarantine, Lise Sievers of Red Wing, Minn., was returning from Uganda where she was finalizing the adoption of two special needs children. Sievers told the Chicago Tribune she "stayed at a hotel the other night and I think it left friends on my body. My son, who's four and a half, had pustules on him."
While in Detroit, Sievers called her mother and told her about the rash on her body and the pustules on her son. Her mother confused the bug bites with the pustules, and called a local hospital to ask how to treat her daughter's symptoms. The hospital, based on what Sievers' mother told them, relayed the information to the Center for Disease Control, who suspected she may have contracted monkeypox.
When the flight touched down at Midway, health inspectors photographed Sievers' rash and concluded they were from bug bites. She and her son later went to a hospital for additional tests.
The CDC later released a statement.
"The ill passenger was advised to seek medical care and the rest of the passengers were released from the plane. CDC and CDPH believe there is very little risk to other passengers. However, out of an abundance of caution, the airline will be collecting contact information for other passengers should CDC need to contact them in the future."