Congress Reviews Flaws In TB Response

Then when Speaker turned up in Rome, the government hesitated to ask Italian authorities to quarantine him in favor of offering him a second chance to cooperate. Instead, Speaker fled, slipping back across a U.S. border that was supposed to be closed to him when a border agent disregarded instructions and waved him through. "We gave the patient the benefit of the doubt, and in retrospect we made a mistake," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in highlighting several times "we failed to take the aggressive actions we could have." Added Ralph Basham, chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection: "I can offer no defense for what happened that day at the Champlain port of entry. ... I'm not going to sit here and say the system worked." If anything, Wednesday's dramatic sparring before Congress raised new questions about government authority to intervene before someone with an airborne infection takes steps that endanger others. Gerberding called for more authority for states to restrict such patients' movements. Article's URL: http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/28-06062007-1358362.html

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