19 People Fall ill On An Emirates Flight To New York!

In a bizarre incident that happened on a New York bound Emirates Flight, Over 100 passengers and the airline crew complained of feeling sick when the aircraft landed.

The Emirates Flight 203, which was travelling from Dubai to New York carrying at least 521 passengers, landed at the John .F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport at around 9 a.m. yesterday. Passengers complained of feeling ill with symptoms such as cough and fever.

The aircraft was taken to a location away from the terminal so that emergency officials could evaluate the situation.

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was working with other agencies to evaluate passengers, including taking temperatures and making arrangements for transport to hospitals.

19 people were confirmed to be ill. Out of those, 10 people were taken to the hospital while the other 9 declined treatment. The people who were taken to the hospital included 7 cabin crew members and 3 passengers.

All the other passengers were allowed to leave by afternoon after the evaluation. They were advised to call a doctor if they developed symptoms later.

Laboratory tests on samples from the patients have not confirmed the illness, but the symptoms such as, fever, cough and vomiting indicate influenza.

Doctors and medical experts believe that passengers who had attended the annual Haj pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca must have contracted the flu virus there. Many reports suggest that the virus had been spreading in that region. During the 14 hour flight, it must have got transmitted between passengers.

All who were hospitalized are in stable condition and no one was in need of “extreme” medical attention.