CDC suit over privacy dismissed

A lawsuit filed against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by a patient at the center of a 2007 tuberculosis scare has been dismissed.

Judge William S. Duffey Jr. ruled Andrew Speaker failed to provide specific, material facts to support the suit.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the dismissal Monday. Speaker alleged the federal agency divulged private medical information during the scare. The lawsuit sought unspecified damages and attorney’s fees.

The CDC said at a May 2007 news conference that a patient with an extremely drug-resistant strain of TB had traveled on an international flight.

Speaker, who had traveled to Greece for his wedding and to Italy on his honeymoon, said he was told that he wasn’t contagious and details about him should not have been released.