Bumped: A Member Of Obama’s Entourage Gets Swine Flu
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The White House is issuing a health advisory to anyone who traveled on President Barack Obama’s trip to Mexico, after a member of the U.S. delegation came down with flu-like symptoms – and tests on that staffers’ family showed they are probably infected with the swine flu.
After saying just last week that no one who traveled to Mexico City for the president’s visit contracted the flu, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced that a lead advance person for Energy Secretary Steven Chu came down with flu-like symptoms after the trip and appears to have spread the flu to three members of his family.
Tests on the individual came back negative – probably because too much time elapsed after he got back – but tests on his family showed they have the influenza virus. A test for the swine flu strain – known as H1N1 – showed they are probable for that.
The individual, of Maryland, traveled to Mexico City on April 13, began to feel ill on April 16, and as of today is back to work, Gibbs said. Gibbs declined to name the man, but said he did not come within six feet of President Obama, although he was present at a dinner Obama attended.
The man flew back to Washington on a commercial United Airlines flight that landed at Dulles airport.
On Monday, Gibbs said that “having talked to the doctors directly about this,” not only was the president’s health never in danger, “not anybody that I know of, traveling with him in either governmental or press capacity, has shown any symptoms that would denote cause for any concern.”
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