On Wednesday, around two dozen passengers and crew members had been confirmed sick after Emirates Flight 203 from Dubai landed at JFK International airport. The crew members and passengers reported symptoms that included coughing, a headache, sore throat, fever and other flu-like symptoms, New York City health officials said. And on Thursday afternoon, two flights arriving at Philadelphia International Airport sparked an investigation by CDC after passengers experienced flu-like symptoms.  Emirates Airline Flight EK203 Quarantined At JFK Airport After 100 Passengers Fall Sick on Board.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention originally reported that as many as 100 people on the flight said they felt ill but hours later Emirates Airline confirmed that 10 of the 549 crew members and passengers were transferred to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. ‘Ice Ice baby’ rapper Vanilla Ice was also on board the flight but he was all okay. A CDC official familiar with the situation told CNN that Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), a viral respiratory disease first identified in 2012, was being considered as a potential cause for illness, along with other respiratory illnesses.

On Thursday, 12 passengers from two American flights arrived in Philadelphia, one from Munich and other from Paris, were referred to medical professionals after exhibiting flu-like symptoms on their flight, officials said, as reported by NBC News. A spokesperson for Philadelphia International Airport said in a statement that the passengers were ‘held for medical review…as a precaution.’ It was the second day in a row at a Mid-Atlantic airport that arriving passengers from the Middle East exhibited indications of illness.

The 12 passengers were ultimately checked out and released on-site. Although, Thursday’s reports of illness did not require hospitalisation, but Southwest Airlines said it has notified crew members. Its planes are subject to rigorous cleaning. Several passengers on the flights into Philadelphia were reportedly returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where a flu outbreak is ongoing.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2018 12:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).