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Home / Travel

Woman claims she was kicked off Spirit Airlines flight after eczema mistaken for monkeypox

news.com.au
8 Aug, 2022 08:20 AM3 mins to read

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What you need to know about the virus that causes monkeypox. Video / AP / Getty

A woman who boarded a plane in the US claims she was asked to disembark after a flight attendant mistakenly took her chronic eczema for monkeypox.

Taking to Tik Tok to share her experience, Jacqueline explained how she'd struggled with chronic eczema her whole life but felt "interrogated" when she was asked to show medical certificates for the condition, which she claims due to "misinformation" about monkeypox — left her in a "humiliating" position.

"They had me get off the plane in front of everyone along with my wife to interrogate me about the eczema I've had my whole life," she wrote of the ordeal on the Spirit Airlines flight.

"They asked me to provide medical documents and told my wife to watch her attitude. I've never been so humiliated in my life."

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Jacqueline claims that she was allowed to get back on the plane after she found her medically prescribed eczema cream.

But despite being allowed to fly, she said the reactions from staff and the "medical discrimination" she faced meant that those who don't carry "proof" of their condition could face a different outcome.

The video, which has received more than 1.3 million views, received thousands of comments from those also suffering from skin conditions concerned they too will face similar situations as Jacqueline.

"As an adult with cystic acne, I have been scared and covering up out of fear," one wrote.

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"People used to bully me thinking my eczema was contagious and I'm terrified it's going to happen again," another added.

"I have psoriasis … the idea of this happening in an airport … how would you suddenly provide that documentation? No one carries that," another wrote.

The World Health Organisation deemed monkeypox as a "public health emergency of international concern" on July 23.

Previously the condition, which creates a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, is mainly transmitted from infected animals to humans.

According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, 23,620 cases have been reported since May in 80 countries, with 73 countries that had no previous reported monkeypox cases.

News.com.au has contacted Spirit Airlines for comment.

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