Speaker on ABC GMA

(Best Syndication) The man that flew from the United States to Europe and back while infected with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) may is scheduled for surgery in July to remove part of his infected lung. The 31 year old Andrew Speaker has been in quarantine in at a hospital in Denver, and by all accounts is in good mental and physical health.

To help him overcome this rare form of TB, doctors will remove a tennis ball sized portion of his lung. "Andrew Speaker is an excellent candidate for surgery," said Dr. Charles Daley, head of the hospital's infectious disease division. "The infected area of his lung is relatively small and well contained. He is also young and otherwise healthy."

The surgery is expected to take place at the University of Colorado hospital. After the surgery he will continue to take antibiotics, according to news reports. Hospital officials have stated that Speaker's treatment will cost more than $250,000.

Although Speaker was diagnosed in January with tuberculosis, he claims he was told he was not contagious but was cautioned not to travel. In May he traveled by plane to Canada, Italy, France, Greece and the Czech Republic. Although XDR-TB is not as contagious as regular TB, he potentially exposed hundreds of people to the disease.

It is still unknown where Speaker contracted the TB. Doctors say that only after he left the United States did they realize he likely had XDR-TB. The CDC sent a former U.S. health official to the Italian capital to confer with Speaker.

According to CDC officials, Speaker declined their offer of care and special transportation back to the United States. Instead, he flew by commercial jet to Prague and then on to Montréal. Speaker said the CDC told him to check himself into an Italian hospital and wait. He said they never told him about special transportation to get him back to the United States.

In an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's Good Morning America, Speaker said he never thought others were at risk for catching his deadly disease.

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By Mark Williams
Best Syndication News Science Writer