And it was allowed to land on US soil!!! What ever it is, it's fast spreading.
At least 10 people were taken to the hospital Wednesday after an Emirates Airline plane from Dubai landed in New York City with about 100 passengers and crewmembers reported feeling ill, officials said.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local authorities arrived at John F. Kennedy airport around 9 a.m. shortly before Emirates Flight 203 landed with about 521 people on board. The plane was quarantined for authorities to evaluate the situation. Emirates Airline said about 10 passengers reported feeling ill. Eric Phillips, spokesman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said those 10 people were taken to the hospital, with a few others being treated at the airport. The CDC later clarified that 100 passengers, including some crewmembers on the flight, complained of feeling sick, including some who reported having a cough and a fever.
“CDC public health officers are working with port authority, EMS, and CBP officials to evaluate passengers including taking temperatures and making arrangements for transport to local hospitals those that need care,” the CDC said in a statement. “Passengers who are not ill will be allowed to continue with their travel plans, and if necessary will be followed up with by health officials.”
The airline said in an earlier statement that local health authorities responded to the plane when it arrived “as a precaution.”
"Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety & care of our customers is our first priority," the statement read.
Authorities did not say what caused the passengers to feel ill. Phillips had initially tweeted that the flight from Dubai stopped in Mecca, where there's a flu outbreak. He later clarified that some of the passengers came from Mecca and the flight was a direct one to New York City.
FDNY ambulances were on the tarmac to transport the sick passengers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.