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Plane lands at JFK with dozens of sick passengers.
AP

With hundreds of passengers on the Emirates flight 203 between Dubai and New York out of the plane and evaluated, health officials will try to identify the cause of the disease that sent 10 passengers to the hospital and left dozens of other passengers feeling ill.

The investigation into what went wrong will involve disease control and prevention centers and local, national and airport authorities.

According to Dr. Robert Amler, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at New York Medical College, officials will be looking at the passengers of the Airbus A380 superjumbo who has fallen ill as well as those who have not tried to determine the source of the disease. and practice and a former chief medical officer of the CDC and regional health administrator of New York.

MORE: Emirates plane briefly quarantined at JFK airport after 19 passengers were found sick

"It's really a medical detective job," he said.

Among the questions that will be asked, Amler said:

  • Did the passengers who went to the hospital sit in a particular section of the plane or did they scatter in the plane?
  • What affected passengers eat in the plane?
  • At what point in the long flight were they sick? And were they all sick at once or was it gradual?

"In an investigation of a disease of any kind, do you start by trying to say what is common among patients and which was still rare among the wells?" Said Amler.

IN IMAGES: Emirates flight quartered at John F. Kennedy Airport (the story continues below)

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The first signs indicate symptoms of the flu, according to a spokesman for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. The CDC reported that many passengers complained of coughs and fever.

Of course, the investigators will pay particular attention to the tests of the results of the passengers who ended up at the hospital. The airline has identified three passengers and seven crew members sick enough to be sent to the hospital. The mayor's office said it identified 19 sick passengers, nine of whom refused medical treatment.

"The results of these tests can also be very, very useful," said Amler. "Is it a kind of infection? Is it a kind of toxic exposure to a chemical in the plane? Could this be a kind of mold exposure, or another kind of exposure to food or water? & # 39; & # 39;

The good news, said Amler, is that officials are trained on how to investigate these situations. There are regular exercises.

"This kind of scenario is well repeated," he said. "All members of the team will know their expectations."

Amler said the investigation should not last.

"Generally, after a few days, they should focus on at least the most likely scenario," he said.

After the landing of Flight 203, the aircraft was brought to a location away from the terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to a statement from the CDC. Medical staff from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the aircraft to assess the situation and provided immediate assistance before the passengers landed and was treated by the US Customs and Border Patrol.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Emirates had recovered its A380 and announced a delay of three hours on the flight back to Dubai.

The CDC has indicated that it will provide updates as soon as they are available.

IN IMAGES: The Airbus A380 global fleet

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