By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Posted: Monday, June 25, 2007

LETTER
Publication Date: June 25, 2007

This letter originally ran in the New York Sun on June 25, 2007 :

I was disappointed with Dr. Edward Wu's characterization of the risks posed by the tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker, and the doctor's lack of empathy for an American citizen who simply wanted to get home for treatment [Oped, "Treating Tuberculosis," June 7, 2007].

Mr. Speaker was told by local health authorities before he left for Europe that he did not present a risk of infection to others. Before, and after, leaving for his wedding and honeymoon, sputum tests showed no sign of the TB bacillus. He was asymptomatic. He was not coughing and had no fever.

Second, when in Rome he was advised by the Centers for Disease Control that he had a highly drug resistant form of TB but that did not make him more likely to transmit the disease. It just meant his TB was much more difficult to treat. He still considered himself non-contagious. There was no new evidence that indicated otherwise.

When the CDC told him that he should turn himself over to Italian officials -- and that he was being placed on the U.S no-fly list -- he panicked. What would any of us do if public health authorities had stated that we were not infectious but we knew we needed specialized -- and urgent — medical treatment?

Dr. Wu argues that the hospitals in Italy are as good as ours. Maybe. But if I, or my husband, were in the same circumstance and I had been assured I was not a public health risk to others, I would have made the same decision that Mr. Speaker did.

DR. ELIZABETH WHELAN
President
American Council on Science and Health
New York, NY