Amber Joy Vinson flew from Cleveland to Dallas on a Frontier flight the day before she became symptomatic, says the CDC. (Associated Press file photo)
Update at 8:30 p.m.: Dallas Ebola patient Amber Vinson contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before boarding the Frontier Airlines flight Monday because she had a slight fever, a federal government spokesperson told NBC News Wednesday.
Vinson was running a 99.5 degree fever, but was not told that she could not fly, the spokesman told NBC News. When she called in, staff looked at the CDC website for guidance. At the time, the category for “uncertain risk” said a person could fly commercially if their temperature was below the threshold of 100.4 degrees.
“Vinson was not told that she could not fly,” the government spokesperson told NBC News.
Update at 3:45 p.m.: The Centers for Disease Control will not confirm reports that health-care workers who came in contact with Thomas Eric Duncan during his stay at Texas Health Resources Presbyterian Dallas are on a no-fly list. Said a CDC spokesperson, “Others can report anything they want, but until we issue a statement or a media release, there will be no comment.”
The Department of Homeland Security has authority to bar travelers who pose a public health threat.
An Obama administration official notes that under federal law — 49 U.S.C. §114(f) and (h) — DHS operates a public health “Do Not Board” list that, based upon CDC recommendations, can be used to prohibit individuals with communicable diseases from boarding commercial aircraft arriving into, departing from, or traveling within the United States, if they meet specific criteria and pose a serious public health threat to travelers.
The federal code provides for no-fly lists for people “who may be a threat to civil aviation or national security” or “a risk of air piracy or terrorism or a threat to airline or passenger safety.”
Meanwhile, Flightaware.com, via The Los Angeles Times, is also reporting that the Frontier Airlines jet that carried Amber Vinson from Cleveland to Dallas made five additional flights before it was taken out of commission.
Update at 12:28 p.m.: During a teleconference with reporters Wednesday, Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said passengers on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 are at “extremely low risk” of being exposed.
Health-care worker Amber Vinson, who’d gone to Ohio to visit her mother, was not symptomatic when she boarded the return flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. But, Frieden said, Vinson did have a low-grade fever of 99.5 at the time. And because of her contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, Dallas’ initial Ebola patient, she should not have been traveling at all.
Frieden said Vinson went to Ohio before Nina Pham, who also treated Duncan at Presbyterian, was diagnosed with Ebola on Friday.
Vinson “should not have been allowed to travel by plane … by virtue of the fact she was in an exposed group,” Frieden said.
All those being monitored will only be allowed to move in a “controlled” situation, per CDC protocol.
The CDC director also said that officials will be contacting all passengers and crew members on Monday’s flight from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
“We encourage people to come forward at the slightest concern,” he said.
Original item posted at 10:23 a.m.: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says this morning that Amber Joy Vinson, the second Texas Health Resources Presbyterian Dallas to contract Ebola, traveled by air on Monday — “the day before she reported her symptoms,” as the CDC puts it.
The CDC says she flew Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth International on October 13, landing at 8:16 Dallas time. The CDC is asking all 132 passengers who flew on that trip to call 1-800-232-4636.
“After 1 p.m. ET, public health professionals will begin interviewing passengers about the flight, answering their questions, and arranging follow up,” says a statement from the CDC. “Individuals who are determined to be at any potential risk will be actively monitored.”
The CDC cautions: “The healthcare worker exhibited no signs or symptoms of illness while on Flight 1143, according to the crew. Frontier is working closely with CDC to identify and notify passengers who may have traveled on flight 1143 on Oct. 13.”
Ebola experts say that the illness can only be caught from contact with bodily fluids from someone ill with the virus.
Here’s the statement from Frontier, which says this morning the aircraft has been removed from service:
“At approximately 1:00 a.m. MT on October 15, Frontier was notified by the CDC that a customer traveling on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct. 13 has since tested positive for the Ebola virus. The flight landed in Dallas/Fort Worth at 8:16 p.m. local and remained overnight at the airport having completed its flying for the day at which point the aircraft received a thorough cleaning per our normal procedures which is consistent with CDC guidelines prior to returning to service the next day. It was also cleaned again in Cleveland last night. Previously the customer had traveled from Dallas Fort Worth to Cleveland on Frontier flight 1142 on October 10.
“Customer exhibited no symptoms or sign of illness while on flight 1143, according to the crew. Frontier responded immediately upon notification from the CDC by removing the aircraft from service and is working closely with CDC to identify and contact customers who may traveled on flight 1143.
“Customers who may have traveled on either flight should contact CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO.
“The safety and security of our customers and employees is our primary concern. Frontier will continue to work closely with CDC and other governmental agencies to ensure proper protocols and procedures are being followed.”
And for those feeling a bit panicky, you also might want to read this — a story about how planes aren’t really good places to transmit diseases after all. Deep breaths. Deep, cleansing breaths.
“Did a contagious #Ebola victim really ride on a commercial plane?” asks state Rep. Eric Johnson via Twitter. “We need to know the facts and act swiftly and intelligently.”
Staff writers Todd Gillman and Matt Peterson contributed to this report.
