When she returned from the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Alison Young had an urgent voicemail from a man who didn’t leave his name.
“He called me because he’d heard the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was going to hold a press conference to talk about him,” said Young. “And he wanted to make sure that the public heard his side of the story.”
The saga of Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta man with an extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, prompted the CDC to issue an international health alert that has drawn worldwide media attention. Some readers believe the coverage has been overblown, since the chance of Speaker actually spreading the disease is very low.
What makes Speaker’s story so important is the window it gives the public on actions taken by local, state and federal health officials to control the movements of a potentially contagious patient. The story was made more personal by Speaker’s willingness to talk openly about the decisions he and his family made.
Speaker eventually gave Young his name, but asked that the newspaper withhold
it because of the stigma attached to having TB. When determining whether to honor such a request, editors and reporters should always weigh the public interest in the case with the harm it may cause to the individual.
Speaker’s contention is that he was never clearly told by Fulton County health officials that he shouldn’t travel. Instead of postponing his wedding in Greece and honeymoon in Rome, the Atlanta attorney left early for it. Later, he questioned why health officials waited until he was on his honeymoon to order him into isolation.
Fulton County health officials have said repeatedly that they strongly advised Speaker not to travel. While CDC officials said they were contacting passengers who were seated near Speaker on several international flights, they stressed the risk of exposure was very low. What made Speaker’s situation more serious is the difficulty of treating XDR TB, which can cause severe illness and death.
Speaker called Young from his hospital bed at Grady Hospital, where armed guards were posted outside his door. Though initially reluctant to give details, “He told me basically the whole story, and that story has held true.”
Young says the case highlights the problems the nation faces in protecting its borders and raises significant questions about the performance of local, state and federal health agencies.
“These are not issues that agencies are going to come out and talk about at a press conference,” she said.
“If Andrew Speaker had not told his story, it’s unclear whether the public or Congress would even be asking the questions they are now.”
The public’s reaction to Speaker’s illness, and the actions he took to get back into the United States, confirm the initial decision of health officials and the newspaper to conceal his identity.
Once other news organizations reported his name, Young flew to Denver, where Speaker is now undergoing treatment, and spoke to his wife, Sarah, who got Speaker’s permission to be released from their original confidentiality agreement.
By the week’s end, Speaker and his wife, who alternated wearing protective masks, told their story on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” show.
Because of the widespread interest, Young found herself being interviewed on radio and television about the case. Nearly 50 media requests were received by the AJC.
“Going forward, once the details of Speaker’s case have come out and are old news, readers in Georgia will still have a new perspective on some public health issues that this case highlights,” said Laura Woody Weaver, who edited some of the stories.
“As [CDC Director] Julie Gerberding pointed out to lawmakers in Washington this week, the law in Georgia is written so that you can only close the barn door once the horse is out.
“You can’t prevent someone from doing something, but once they’ve done it, the court order lets the government take action. We’ll be watching to see what changes are made in the laws and procedures so that the safeguards can come into action before people have been exposed.”
