Officials report man’s death on plane to New York from Nigeria is not Ebola related
A man died on a plane from Nigeria landing at Kennedy Airport in Queens early Thursday after vomiting and experiencing chest pains. The Centers for Disease Control and Health Department officials raced to run a test to rule out ebola, which they have confirmed.
The unidentified man, 63, was traveling alone from Lagos, Nigeria to JKF and a Port Authority source tells The Dispatch that he died of a heart attack after the tests ruled out the deadly virus.
Rep. Peter King said in a letter to Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol that the handling of the remains exposed serious flaws in airport preparedness for an Ebola outbreak.
Between 70 and 100 passengers a day arrive at JFK from the Ebola epicenter countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, King noted, and they have access to public restrooms and interact with other travelers before their first screening.
“Given the high volume of travelers at JFK, it is essential that extraordinary measures are taken to intercept possible Ebola-infected passengers,” while keeping the public and first responders safe, King wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Customs Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske.
“These individuals transit the airport with the rest of the traveling population, including using the restrooms,” King wrote.
Passengers were held on the plane for about 45 minutes as CDC officials determined that the dead passenger didn’t have the disease.
“The CDC went on the plane, examined the dead body and said the person did not have Ebola,” King told The Post. “It was, what I was told, a cursory examination. The Port Authority cops and personnel from Customs and Border Protection were there . . . Their concern was, how could you tell so quickly? And what adds to the concern is how wrong the CDC has been over the past few weeks.”
About 3,400 people have died from the disease, officials have said.