Flight From Detroit Quarantined In Chicago
CHICAGO (WWJ) - A Minnesota woman who caused a health scare aboard a Delta Airlines flight from Detroit to Chicago says it was all a misunderstanding over bug bites.
According to reports, Lise Sievers was one of 43 passengers aboard Delta flight 3163 that landed around 3:45 p.m. Thursday at Chicago's Midway Airport. The plane was met by emergency crews on the runway, and the captain announced the plane would be briefly quarantined.
Men with surgical masks over their faces boarded the plane, as passengers tried to figure out what was going on.
Sievers told authorities she was returning from a trip to Uganda, Africa, where she is adopting two children. She apparently had some type of rash that federal officials were concerned could be monkeypox.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, monkeypox is a rare viral disease that occurs mostly in central and western Africa. It belongs to a group of viruses that includes the smallpox virus. In humans, the signs and symptoms of monkeypox are like those of smallpox, but usually they are milder.
Photos taken of Sievers and the rash were forwarded to the CDC, where health officials determined it was probably just bed-bug bites.
A purported passenger, tweeting from the plane, said they were told it's "not serious."
After about two hours on the tarmac, all passengers were released. Sievers was held until around 6 p.m. and went to the hospital for additional testing.
Follow the story out of Chicago on our sister site, cbschicago.com.
