Passengers and crew aboard a Delta flight at Midway International Airport in Chicago were released Thursday after being delayed in a monkey pox scare.
A passenger on Delta Flight 3163 from Detroit reported a medical issue, Chicago Aviation Department spokeswoman Karen Pride told The Associated Press. Chicago's health and fire departments responded to the flight as it landed at Midway about 3:45 p.m. local time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta received a report about a passenger with a rash, the CDC said in a statement. A family member was concerned that the rash might be monkey pox because the passenger had been in Africa.
After the passenger was evaluated by Chicago Emergency Medical Services, CDC and Chicago Department of Public Health staff members reviewed the case and determined that it did not appear the passenger had a monkey pox infection, the CDC said.
The sick passenger was advised to get medical care, but authorities believe there is "very little risk" to the other passengers, the CDC said. However, Delta collected information from the other passengers in case the CDC needs to contact them in the future.
Delta spokesman Anthony Black told the AJC that 43 passengers and three crew members were on board but were released after about an hour and a half.
--AJC staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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